We Come in Peace
by Heliotropium
Summary: Fugitives from the FM Planet escape their prisons and terrorize the Earth to destroy the alliance Cepheus and Subaru made. So it's only natural that Cepheus sends his soldiers to assist Rockman and Harp Note. Discontinued and up for adoption
1. Greetings

A few things. I'll be using the Japanese naming, so if you have problems I'll either say "go look on Wikipedia" or "tough luck". Next, because I REALLY hate merging canons, especially when it's unspecified, I'm going to flat out say that this goes off into an AU after Ryuusei 1.

* * *

It had been a few weeks after returning back to the FM Planet that Cepheus began having major problems. His fallen warriors were easily revived and re-educated to embrace the ideals of friendship. They all grudgingly accepted the retraining, knowing first hand how powerful bonds were.

Cepheus sighed as he watched the results of his friendship and trust classes. Many of his subjects happily acknowledged the concept and faithfully practiced it much like a religion while several merely tolerated. However, as there are those who agree, there will be those who disagree.

Although everyone expected Gemini to lead the conservative destruction faction, it had actually been Cetus who led the arguments. The economy was failing due to the destruction of the war machine Andromeda in addition to the AM Planet's reconstruction. These so called "bonds", according to the whale, was the cause of the planet's current suffering. Of course, he did not blame it on Cepheus. Cetus as well as the other rebels knew they could be annihilated by a single blink if they directly disobeyed their king. Instead, they discovered another way to act out. It was public knowledge that it had been a boy from the Earth who had taught Cepheus that ridiculous concept of friendships and bonds. Fearing for the worst, Cepheus threw Cetus and the other leaders of the opposing faction in a Denpa asteroid prison.

Now, the King was pacing back and forth before his throne, attempting to record a message to his first friend.

"Greetings, Hoshikawa Subaru." He dictated. "Things are going well. My people are close to full understanding of bonds. I hope we can make—"

"Cepheus-sama!" Another Denpa being cried out, bursting into the throne room. "There's a great crisis happening outside!"

"Quiet, Perseus." The King growled. "I'm in the middle of a transmission!"

"But sir! Cetus and the other rebels have escaped from their prisons!"

"What! Hoshikawa Subaru… I apologize, but I must end this message here. Please understand."

Cepheus left with Perseus for an emergency meeting. Many of his warriors were gathered at the table along with the three AM Sages.

"My warriors and guests." He greeted. "As you all know, the rogue Cetus has escape from his prison with his rebellious leaders." Everyone in the room nodded to show the FM King that they knew. "But, we have just tracked their path. I am afraid they are headed straight for the Earth where Warrock and Harp are."

"Why would they go there?" A pink colored wave inquired.

"They must intend on eliminated their human partners to show how 'frail' bonds are." Libra guessed.

"Correct." Cepheus confirmed. "If the one who defeated Andromeda was destroyed, they would also gain the reputation of the most powerful beings in comparison to the rest of us." The green wave gazed at the three former Satellite Admins. "Please, if one of you would go with some of my warriors to aid Hoshikawa Subaru, peace may be restored for a long time.

The three AM beings looked at each other in contemplation before Leo spoke. "I shall go. Pegasus and Dragon would be most helpful remaining here." The other two nodded in agreement.

"Right, and now I shall choose the four who will go with you." He turned to Ophiuchus, Ox, and Gemini. "While you three are most adamant about the bond theory, you have hosts living within Hoshikawa Subaru's area. You three shall go with an ambassador figure who will balance the negative feelings out."

"No…" Ophiuchus gaped. "You can't mean…"

"Unfortunately, I do. You three will be accompanied by Aquarius."

"Whoohoo!" One violet armored, blue wave FM rejoiced.

"Settle down, Aquarius." Cepheus said irritably, the room beginning to shake. He took a moment to calm down and not cause the room to collapse. "Goat, Cancer, Ram, and Centaur are already stationed at different parts of the Earth in case Cetus decides to cause mayhem elsewhere. You will assist them when they require it. Now my warriors… go!"

The five waves warped out of the room and off the planet in a flash of multi-colored lights. The FM King sighed.

"I wish you all luck."

* * *

Two students had transferred out of Ikuta's and another transferred in, leaving an empty desk in front of one Hoshikawa Subaru. He couldn't help but stare at it, if the strange feeling he felt was generally shared when he refused to show up.

He looked at the new student, Mizukami Shouyou, as most saw her: with some serious issues. She had major mood swings, being calm one moment and then extremely violent the next. Of course, Subaru had no problem with her. He hadn't done anything to cause her to explode and she didn't bother him about anything. He did have a strange feeling that if conflict between them would arise, it would end up with him in the hospital.

The loud bell suddenly brought him back to reality. "Alright kids, it's time to go home!" Ikuta said, dismissing his students. "Remember, have a safe day!" As Subaru packed up, Tsukasa approached his desk.

"I thought since we were both all recovered, we could go to Dream Island again…" He shyly said. "Unless you're busy, that is." The brunet shot him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I promised I'd meet Misora-chan at Yabushi today." He answered. The green-haired boy's face became unreadable.

"Oh, okay." He simply replied. "I'll see you on Monday then."

"He looks dejected." Warrock remarked, but was immediately silenced when Subaru closed his transer. Now was not the time for his comments.

He met the pop-star at their agreed meeting point before getting dragged around shopping for the rest of the day. He didn't mind waiting on her while she browsed around the more secretive sections of the feminine clothes aisles. He received word that Cepheus was sending a transmission later, so he had that on his mind as Misora tried on different clothes.

Subaru spotted Shouyou coming out of one of the changing stalls.

"Oh, you're that Hoshikawa Subaru…" She muttered, giving him a single acknowledging glance. "Tsukasa talks about you a lot. I wonder what you're doing here with a girl instead of with him though…" She gave him a questioning stare before walking off, tapping her chin in what seemed to be deep thought. Before Subaru could probe any further, Misora opened the door to her dressing station.

"How do I look?"

"Uhh… Great, I guess."

By nightfall, the two had finished up their shopping and returned to Kodama town.

"Come on, the best signal is going to be at the lookout point." Subaru said, smiling. Misora laughed and followed his lead. They waited for a few minutes before receiving a signal. "It's here!" The pop-star leaned over to view Subaru's transer.

"_Greetings, Hoshikawa Subaru. Things are going well. My people are close to full understanding of bonds. I hope we can make—"_

"_Cepheus-sama! There's a great crisis happening outside!" _

"_Quiet, Perseus.__ I'm in the middle of a transmission!" _

"_But sir!__ Cetus and the other rebels have escaped from their prisons!" _

"_What!__ Hoshikawa Subaru… I apologize, but I must end this message here. Please understand."_

The transmission ended with loud static.

"Who's Cetus?" Misora inquired, looking at her own transer as Subaru slipped his visualizer over his eyes.

"Cetus is one of the more liberal FM Seijin." Harp explained. "I don't know what's going on, but if he's involved, it's probably bad news." As she finished that statement, she and Warrock suddenly materialized out of their transers.

"What's wrong, Warrock?"

"Something's coming…" The AM Seijin growled. "FM Seijin!"

Now alert, the two humans frantically looked around for the cause of the tension. Suddenly, a jet of multi-colored lights flashed in front of Subaru, revealing the four causes of the strange signals.

"So this is Earth, huh?" The purple-armored, or rather, potted, one commented.

"Aquarius." The Ox-shaped wave growled.

"It's so pretty."

"Aquarius." The violet wave hissed.

"I could live here!"

"Aquarius!" The agitated twin-headed wave roared.

"Oh, what's up in your wavelengths?!"

"Ahem." Warrock coughed, catching the FM Seijin's attention.

"Oh, it's Warrock and Harp! Happy day, we don't need to spend time looking!" The aqua FM Seijin cheered. She glanced around, spotting the two humans. "Oohh… They can't really see or hear us, can they?" She floated around in circles before perking up again. "Oh! Wave roads! Please meet us there, Warrock! Harp!" With that, she warped up to the area above.

"Wait, you little brat!" Ophiuchus shrieked, pulsing up after her. The other two FM Seijin followed suit.

"They want us to meet on the wave road, huh…" Subaru repeated, quite skeptical.

"It could be a trap." Harp suggested. "But I don't think Aquarius is even capable of thinking of anything harmful."

"Let's go meet with them." Warrock decided. "We could take them in their wave forms if they decide to attack, and Aquarius would probably try to end the fight."

"Alright then!" The two kids jumped off the ramp and onto the familiar wave hole. "Denpa Henkan! Hoshikawa Subaru On-Air!"

"Denpa Henkan! Hibiki Misora On-Air!"

Rockman and Harp Note were suddenly warped up to the wave road and glided on by until they met with the four visitors in the large square above the viewing platform.

"Those guys?!" Harp Note gasped. "What are they doing here?"

"Do not worry!" Aquarius chirped happily. "We come in peace!"

* * *

And I'm done for now. (End date: 3/5/08) 


	2. Accepting

Yayaya

First and foremost, I'd like to thank the two reviewers who weren't me for leaving positive and constructive reviews. Thank you.

* * *

"We come in peace!"

Rockman couldn't help staring at the strange wave as if she suddenly sprouted random parts. He glanced at Harp Note, who shrugged back at him. "How can we trust you?" he hesitantly asked. She returned the same strange look.

"I thought Earthlings were trusting!" She gaped. Suddenly a familiar signal revealed itself.

"Hoshikawa Subaru, there is no need to be suspicious of them any longer." Leo declared. "As Aquarius said, they come in peace. King Cepheus sent them to aid you in warding off Cetus and his legion."

"That does seem plausible." Warrock commented. "But why just four?"

"A civil war might break out on the FM Planet." Ophiuchus revealed. "A lot of tension was created when Cepheus-sama imprisoned Cetus. They need warriors over thereto keep the peace."

"How do we know that you're not going to backstab us once you're done with your mission?" Harp Note demanded, quickly putting up her defenses.

"Because if they disobey commands, I'll send the report back to the FM Planet saying that they've been baaad!" Aquarius happily exclaimed. "Their power levels are also below their potential but still enough to defend themselves! This way, they get to learn how to work with others to survive!" Her tone of voice almost seemed sinister, coupled by the too gleeful expression painted on her face.

"There will be no need to worry about that." Leo reassured. "I will be here with you, watching over you."

"Hold on a minute." Warrock growled. "Where are the other satellite admins?!"

"They opted to stay with King Cepheus to help guide him and continue the AM Planet's reconstruction."

It seemed too unbelievable, but with the combination of Aquarius' lack of threat and Leo Kingdom's words, Rockman easily reached a conclusion. "Okay. We can trust you guys."

"What?!"

"Oh wonderful!! …By the way, would you like to help us locate our Earthling partners, uh…"

"Rockman."

"Rockman! Right, sorry! Would you?"

Rockman eyed her suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because, it would teach them how to be more friendly of course!" The blue wave chirped. "Cepheus-sama sent _them_ for a reason, you know!"

"Alright…" Rockman reluctantly agreed. "But it won't be pretty…"

* * *

Futaba Tsukasa wasn't one to be easily surprised, due to all the things life has thrown at him. However, as he stepped into his apartment complex that night, he was completely caught off guard at what awaited him inside his apartment.

"W—What are you doing here?!" He stuttered, pointing an accusing finger at Gemini.

"Look Tsukasa, Hikaru." Gemini sighed, gliding towards the boy. "This isn't exactly easy for me either, so let me explain…."

"What are you doing here?!" One Shirogane Luna shrieked, nearly toppling her vanity mirror over as a familiar wave appeared next to her reflection.

"The FM King sent me." Ophiuchus tried to say softly, miserably failing at the soft part. "Because we need your help."

"AAHHH!! The ghost of my ton katsu is after me again!!" Gonta shouted in terror.

"I AM NOT A PIG! I AM A BULL!!" Ox yelled in return. "WE'VE BEEN THROUGHT HIS ALREADY!!" Taking a moment to calm himself down, he glared, or at least glared as best as he could being without proper eyes, at his former human host. "Regardless… You're the only one who can help me."

"Because of imminent war between the Earth and Cetus, Cepheus-sama sent us, to bond with you humans, so that we can defeat him."

Tsukasa sat up, thinking this new information over. He was still skeptical about the entire ordeal, as he was hearing it from the manipulating Gemini.

"How can I trust you?" he finally asked.

"Go ask that Subaru kid tomorrow. Then you'll see."

Luna looked at Ophiuchus curiously. "Subaru-kun?"

"He trusts us."

Gonta was confused. "Subaru thinks so?"

"I guess I have no other choice…"

"But only if he really does believe you guys!"

"Because he's Rockman!"

Aquarius, watching from above every scenario, smiled to herself.

"Oh, they're getting along better than I thought!" She squealed. She paused, starting to look dejected.

"What's wrong?" Rockman asked her, noticing the sudden change in the FM's mood.

"I don't have a human partner of her own!" The blue colored wave whined loudly, bouncing up and down in a tantrum. "It's no faaair!"

Harp Note looked at her guitar. "She seems a little weird."

"Oh she's just young and energetic." Harp dismissed. "Really, it's better she be this way than like that manipulative bastard Gemini!"

"Hey!" Aquarius exclaimed. "Gemini is a good guy despite his mean looks and his threats to use Gemini Thunder on me! Sure, he's very persuasive in the wrong direction, but he has charisma!"

Rockman and Harp Note looked at each other while grimacing at the FM Seijin's words.

"That was…"

"…Quick…" The idol finished.

"I think I know of the proper partner for you."

* * *

As morning rolled in and everyone was just getting to the classroom, Luna, Gonta, and Tsukasa approached Subaru's desk. They looked at each other, knowing that they had the same question for the brunet.

"How can we trust them?"

Subaru blinked at his three classmates who had suddenly grew synchronized. "The FM Seijin?" he asked for clarification, getting yet another freakishly synchronized reply. He smiled before giving them his answers. "I think you can trust them this time." Gonta seemed to have felt that was all he needed to hear, and although Luna and Tsukasa were still skeptical, only the latter remained behind as the bell rang.

"They won't… try anything, will they?" The boy said uneasily. Of course, it was to be expected since he was to house Gemini of all things.

"Cepheus wouldn't send them without a reason." Subaru began to explain. "They even met with Harp Note and me last night."

Tsukasa closed his eyes and seemed to concede as he walked to his desk once Ikuta entered the classroom.

"Okay class, settle down! I have a treat for all you hard workers!"

On the Wave Road above the class, the alien waves watched the strange teacher who was formally Libra's partner.

"Strange guy to pick on Libra's part." Ox muttered. "Kinda boring too."

"Oh you know Libra and his education." Aquarius scoffed. "But that Subaru kid promised me a human companion! Ooh, this boils me over!"

The others silently agreed that wouldn't have minded if that happened. However, they had a mission.

"Finding a partner is not exactly the easiest of tasks, Aquarius." Gemini growled. "It takes a while to find the correct brain wave and the right time for them to take you in."

"You had one of the most desperate of kids though, Gemini." Ophiuchus accused. "You found him quite easily and stuck around for some time. You have no say in this."

"Guys, guys! We're not here to argue amongst each other!"

"They're kinda noisy up there." Warrock commented quietly. Subaru nodded slightly in agreement, appearing focused on the video Ikuta was showing to the class. Suddenly, the image flickered and turned into static.

"What's going on?!"

"Subaru, put on your visualizer!" Uh oh. Subaru slipped the green glasses over his eyes, nearly jumping out of his seat as he stared up. Several Jammingas surrounded the four FM Seijin on the Wave Road, causing disturbances in electrical appliances in the mean time.

"Hehehehe… Traitors to the FM way…" One Jamminga sneered.

"Cetus-sama will be pleased with your deaths!"

"Shut up, you cretins!" Gemini growled, his wave body beginning to flicker violently. "Gemini Thunder!" In a flash, the two Jammingas who had spoken were immediately destroyed. Unexpectedly, the lightning FM collapsed. "H—How can this be?"

"All your powers were reduced as a precaution." Aquarius worriedly answered. "So all your attacks are going to drain you faster while you're in this state…"

"You fool! Do you have any idea what will happen if we are killed now?!"

"I know! But I'm not the one who did it!"

"Enough of this!" Ox roared. "We'll just squash them even if we don't have full strength!" He reared his head towards a small cluster and charged. "Ox Tackle!"

"Ox is right for once!" Ophiuchus smirked. "Quick Serpent!"

As the majority of the Jammingas were decimated, the remaining group quickly surrounded Aquarius. She whimpered softly, shrinking back.

"We got you now!"

The watery wave continued to whimper as the foot soldiers closed in. Out of options, Aquarius turned around. "Aquarius Toooooop!" In a quick motion, the small pot shaped FM spun like a top, bowling over the surrounding Jammingas, forcing them to retreat.

"We won't forget this!" One shrieked as it clumsily warped away. The disturbance in the classroom dissipated once the intruding waveforms were gone.

"Alright!" Aquarius cheered as she quickly did a sort of dance. "Let's rest now!"

Lunch break came quickly after the movie was finished. Once the students who weren't involved with the FM crisis left, Tsukasa ushered Subaru to Luna's desk.

"I think we should all gather somewhere to discuss what happened last night." The green-haired boy suggested.

"What happened?" Kizamaro inquired curiously.

"Last night the FM Seijin who bonded with Iinchou, Gonta-kun, and Tsukasa-kun came back to Earth." Subaru explained. "Their ambassador said that the FM King sent them because other hostile FM Seijin are here."

The tiny brunet began to freak out. "What?!" Luna quickly shushed him.

"They didn't seem to be lying." Subaru said, trying to calm Kizamaro's nerves. "The ambassador is too friendly to be so deceiving."

"Man, can't we talk about this then?" Gonta complained. "I'm hungry and it's lunch right now!"

The other four laughed without knowing that a certain black-haired girl was behind the door, listening to the entire conversation.

"FM Seijin, huh?"

The rest of the day rolled by, incident free before Subaru's transer began to ring. He hastily answered it and was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Subaru-kun?"

"Ah, Misora-chan!" He exclaimed. The students who hadn't left the classroom yet stared at him incredulously. Lowering his voice, he greeted the former pop star. "What's up?"

"Are you doing anything today?"

"Oh yeah, we're all going to the lookout point to discuss some matters. Do you want to join us?"

The line went silent for a bit as Misora thought the invitation over. "Alright." She answered. "I'll see you there!"

Tsukasa paused. "Is she coming soon?" He asked, almost fidgeting.

"I guess." Subaru answered, shrugging. The girl was usually prompt, regardless of the daily crowds that gathered around her after school. Tsukasa paused as his transer's screen brightened a bit. He mouthed something to Gemini before looking back at Subaru.

"We should get going then." He said, smiling. He grabbed his backpack and almost rushed out the door. Shouyou shot Subaru a quizzical look as she swept up the dirt pile Tsukasa accidentally destroyed. He knew Luna was also on cleanup duty, and Gonta and Kizamaro would also stay behind to help her, so he excused himself and quickly chased after his friend before the black-haired girl questioned him.

"You seem excited!" Subaru exclaimed, laughing as he caught up to Tsukasa. The other boy nodded.

"I want to get back onto the Wave Road." He explained. "It's been so long since I've been able to zip along a path…" He looked over at Subaru and chuckled. "I'm not boring you, am I?"

"No, not at all! I know the feeling."

By the time the two reached the lookout point, Misora had waved out over the familiar wavehole.

"Took you long enough!" She chided playfully, almost pouting when she saw the green-haired boy in tow.

"Iinchou has cleanup duty today so she, Gonta-kun, and Kizamaro-kun are still in the classroom." Subaru announced cheerfully. "So are you okay with starting discussion when they arrive?" The pink-haired girl plopped down on the bench and nodded.

"It's fine!"

Subaru and Tsukasa joined her on the bench, casually swinging their legs impatiently.

"So, Hibiki-san." Tsukasa began, attempting to make small talk to pass the time.

Misora was almost startled. No one ever called her by her surname. "Please, just call me Misora!"

"Okay, Misora-san…" Tsukasa started again, awkwardly. "How is your school?"

"It's great!" Misora responded, understanding the need for small talk. "Gets annoyingly crowded a lot after school because of paparazzi though."

Tsukasa nodded in agreement. "I don't think I could handle that stress."

"I can't either." The girl admitted. "But I usually manage to get to a secluded place and escape on the Wave Road."

"That must feel great after a long day."

"Not really."

Before the conversation ran dry, Luna, Kizamaro, and Gonta arrived.

"Geez, I can't believe that girl!" Luna was complaining. "She packs too slow to be human! I swear, she's out to make me late for everything!"

"But Iinchou, you could have left before her."

"But it's my job to make sure everyone's out of the classroom okay!"

"Iinchou, what happened?" Subaru inquired.

"That Shouyou took her sweet time getting out of the classroom after cleaning up, just to spite me!" Luna shouted, glaring at the snickering idol. "What are you laughing about?"

"Nothing!" Misora said, pretending to be innocent.

"Let's start our discussion!" Subaru quickly brought up, hoping to avoid the inevitable conflict. "I think we all need to do Denpa Henkan under unstressed conditions to get to know our FM Seijin partners and trust them!"

"What about me?" Kizamaro whined. "I don't have an FM partner!" Subaru nearly flinched. He had forgotten that Kizamaro was the only one who never performed the transformation.

"Can you keep a look out for us?" Misora asked. "It'd be bad if someone spots us transforming!" The short boy almost immediately brightened.

"I can do that!" He said cheerfully. "For you, Misora-chan!"

"Alright, let's do this!" Gonta shouted, pumping his fists in the air.

Before anyone could ask where to do it, Tsukasa immediately dashed to the wave hole.

"Denpa Henkan! Futaba Tsukasa On-Air!" The boy disappeared in a bright yellow flash.

"….Just say that right there, but with your name instead." Subaru sighed after a moment.

"Denpa Henkan!"

Kizamaro watched the others warp away, and spun around as he caught the sound of footsteps leading to the lookout.

"Oh, you're here? Where did everyone else go…?"

* * *

As Rockman arrived on the Wave Road, he spotted Gemini Spark already sparring each other.

"You call that a swing?!" The black one criticized.

"You try having control with your left!"

"Gemini Spark…"

The twins looked over at Rockman and straightened up.

"We're just sparring!" Spark Black quickly said, holding his hands up in the air to feign innocence. Spark White elbowed him in the side playfully.

"Make sure they know how to get around and fight." Spark White advised, pointing to Ox Fire and Ophiuchus Queen.

"Uuuoo!" Ox Fire exclaimed. "We're all so high off the ground!"

"I can barely move around!"

"This is going to take a long time." Harp Note sighed.

Before any lessons could begin, the loud wail of the train sounded.

"Th—That train shouldn't be operating!!" A voice back in the material world cried. It was Kizamaro, backing up onto the elevated platform.

"Oooh, the train is stalled in the middle of the path" Shouyou sarcastically bit. "Now we can't get out because we are suddenly unable to climb like any sensible human beings!" She scoffered and climbed into the control area. As she attempted to operate it, the control panel sparked hazardously. "A malfuction?!"

"There's a virus in there!" Kizamaro cried out. "Get off of there, it's too dangerous!" The girl ignored the warning and began to slide in random Battle Cards through her Transer.

"That's no going to do anything." Warrock commented. "She's only wasting it since she can't see the viruses."

"They're not viruses though." Aquarius brought up. "They're the Jammingas that fled earlier."

"How can you tell?" Rockman asked curiously.

"I feel their malice waves better than anyone else can." She piped back. Her face suddenly grew serious. "You should help her. Otherwise she'll hurt herself and that other kid."

Shouyou seemed to have run out of Battle Cards and proceeded to kick the machine.

"I think we should help her." Rockman duly noted and turned to Harp Note. "You guys stay here, I'll go get them out of the train!"

He disappeared in a cobalt flash before the pink warrior could protest.

"He only looked at you guys!" Spark Black sneered pulsed into the train console, leaving Spark White to helplessly give a curt bow before chasing after his black counterpart.

"Honestly…!"

Rockman found Aquarius' prediction to be true. Several Jammingas were in the process of tearing up the console from the inside, all snickering to themselves.

"This'll show those puny little Earthlings!"

"Ahem." Rockman cleared his throat to gain their undivided attention.

"Blast! It's that Rockman kid!" One of them cursed foully.

"Nevermind him! There's only one of him and a bunch of us!"

"Correction, there are none of you left when we're through!"

There was a loud, familiar clap.

"GEMINI THUNDER!!"

All but one were incinerated in a flash.

"Gemini Spark!" Rockman gaped, glaring at the twins. "I told you guys to stay over there!"

"No, you told Harp Note that." Spark Black reasoned. "Besides, it's not like you can hog all the action."

"Shut up and pay attention!" The last Jamminga stammered. He backed up, growling at the three. Suddenly, he turned around and smashed the console. "Heh heh… Go die up in smo—GAAHHH!!"

Spark Black sliced him in half before he was done gloating. "You talk too much."

"You have other things to worry about." Warrock growled. "The train is going to blow up!"

"But Shouyou is still inside!"

"Then hurry up and pulse out!"

Gemini Spark had already pulsed out of the console, and were now confronting Aquarius just above the warp point.

"Stop, it's too dangerous, even for you!" Spark White warned.

"That girl is!!" Aquarius ignored him and materialized in the real world.

"Shouyou!"

"Oh my gosh, I'm already dead!" Shouyou screamed once she set eyes on the now serious FM Seijin as flames engulfed the train.

"You're not dead, so listen up!" Aquarius huffed, successfully gaining the girl's attention. "There's only one way to get out of this, but it's pretty dangerous, so are you up for it?"

"Either way, I have no choice, so go on!"

"You're going to bond with me now, so just say the worlds 'Denpa Henkan', your full name, and then 'On-Air!'"

"What?!"

"JUST DO IT!"

"D—Denpa Henkan! Mizukami Shouyou On-Air!"

Shouyou found herself surrounded by a warm yet cool energy and felt as if she were flying as she was immediately transported to the wave world above. As soon as she recovered from her shock, she took note of her surroundings. She was way above the ground, floating above everything else just as a train burst into flames.

"HOLY CRAP I'M DEAD!!"

"You're not dead!"

Shouyou paused to look at herself. Instead of her usual attire, she was wearing some sort of weird armor and body suit, mostly blue and green colors. The strange pot thing that had convinced her to perform that weird thing had morphed into a tall, purple wineglass with the same face. She felt herself twitching. She quickly scanned the area, spotting more kids in different kinds of spandex and armor. Some had discolored skin, some didn't. One kid has a weird kind of wolf on his hand while another girl had a strange blue guitar. The purple wineglass bounced closer to Shouyou.

"Welcome to the Wave World… Aquarius Dawn!"

And she proceeded to faint.

Rockman blinked at the scene in front of him.

"Should we… continue discussion later?"

"I guess so."

Gemini Spark helped drag the unconscious Aquarius Dawn to the wave hole as everyone proceeded to wave out and set off their distress signals at once.

* * *

Not doing much effort, I can tell. Oh well. (End date: 4/9/08)


	3. Bonding

I am assuming that my profile told everyone that I half-ass all my fics and therefore, no one bothered to submit criticism. That is sad and adverse.

* * *

After the path was cleared and the Satellite police successfully dealt with through Luna's negotiation skills, the ragtag group of heroes dragged the unconscious transfer student over to Subaru's house for further discussion.

"That was a close one." Subaru sighed. "I was afraid we'd get caught!"

"It was a piece of cake." Luna said smoothly, playing with one of her curls. "You have to learn how to deal with people, that's all."

"Speak for yourself." Misora muttered under her breath, earning a glare from the blonde.

"What was that?!"

"Mommy, five more minuuuutes!"

All eyes were on Shouyou as she whined in her unconscious state and all fell silent.

"Should we go somewhere else?" Kizamaro asked nervously, adjusting his glasses further up his face. "I—I mean so that we don't wake up Mizukami-san…"

"I'm sure she'll be fine if she wakes up." Tsukasa dismissed. Kizamaro froze on spot, his teeth audibly chattering in traumatic memory.

"Did Shouyou-san do something…" Subaru gulped. "Bad to you?"

"Oi, I'm not that bad."

Everyone almost jumped as the subject of discussion sat up and rubbed her head.

"Now you should see that girlish kid over there in the morning." She grinned, diverting attention to Tsukasa. "That one spends more time in the mirror than I do!" The accused placed his hands on his hips, giving her a dirty look and making her shrink away.

"N—Now that everyone's here and awake, can we begin?" Subaru quickly interjected, hoping to change the topic once again.

It took even longer to explain the entire situation to the newcomer; however, she seemed easily convinced by the story.

"That makes a lot of sense." She said, nodding her head. "That alien attack wasn't so random after all!"

"So…" Subaru started, confused by her ready acceptance of the strange truth. "Will you help us?"

"Sure will! I mean if that little purple thing in my transer chanting 'yes' to me, then I have to believe it!"

Misora stood up, arms ready for action.

"Then let's get go!" She exclaimed. "There's an event going on at Yabushi and it'll be a perfect chance to bond with each other!"

"That's a great idea!" Subaru agreed.

"I bet they're going to have a lot of good food booths over there!" Gonta cheered. "Count me in!"

"What's the event about?" Tsukasa asked. Kizamaro gave him a quizzical look.

"You don't know?" He asked, aghast at the green-haired boy's ignorance. "They're showing off that Moai exhibit at last!"

"I heard about that from Mother and Father." Luna said, backing up Kizamaro's explanation. "I was looking forward to it myself. They even said some celebrities are coming!"

"I guess it's worth a look." Shouyou agreed at last. Subaru glanced at her, noticing an uneasy feature flash momentarily on her face before disappearing in a large smile.

* * *

They met up again on Sunday to ride the bus together, sans Misora who lived further away. On the bus ride to Yabushi, Subaru couldn't help but notice the odd behavior of the new member in his group. Unlike her confident self in class and school, she seemed rather nervous and fidgety whenever the event was brought up. He knew something about it was bothering her, but he had no idea where to start or if he should even start at all.

"Hey Hoshikawa."

Everyone was startled by Shouyou's addressing. Just "Hoshikawa"? Not "Hoshikawa-kun" or even "Subaru-kun"?

"Since it's a big fair, would it be better to split into groups for certain times instead of stay in one big one?" She suggested, staring out the window.

"We'll decide that at lunch." Subaru replied, smiling. "Misora-chan isn't with us right now."

She didn't even look at him when he answered and continued blankly staring at the passing scenary. When the bus finally reached their destination, the entire group pushed pass the massive crowds to the dog statue where Misora was waiting in a disguise.

"Finally, I hate this disguise!" the idol breathed, glancing around, hoping no one else realized who she was. She donned a pink cap, much like Shouyou's, but with two flaps on each side. She wore a beige dress with striped tights underneath, and flowery sandals that had straps wrapped along her ankles. A necklace of Harp hung around her neck as she adjusted her strange, round sunglasses.

"Isn't that your Fine Holiday line?" Kizamaro asked, vexed by her use of "disguise."

"Yeah, but this way, I seem more like a cosplayer than the real person."

"That's not a bad idea." Tsukasa commented. "There are a lot of people dressed up like you here today too…"

That was true. They had seen at least nine different impersonators and counting.

"Well if you ever lose me, remember that I'm the only one with this necklace around! So, let's eat!"

Lunch had been surprisingly easy to buy, considering the long lines for each various booths vending different types of Moai themed meals. Seating however, was a completely different story. They eventually found a table under the shade and socialized as they ate.

Whatever animosity Luna and Misora felt for each other melted away once Shouyou began the "fashion" topic and the two instantly became best friends for the conversation. It was a frightening sight, according to Tsukasa, for those two to get along. Subaru only laughed. After all was said and done, Luna and Misora immediately grabbed Tsukasa by either arm and dragged him off for a makeover excursion, much to his chagrin and protest. Gonta and Kizamaro, apparently experts when this occurred, chased after them, presumably to rescue the androgynous boy.

"Funny how they leave the leader and the ambassador alone." Shouyou yawned, adjusting her gloves after washing her hands. "Almost like it was planned."

"Well, it gives us the perfect opportunity to talk about things." Subaru said, chuckling a little.

"Like about aliens, huh?"

"Still don't understand that?"

"Not a bit!"

At least she had brightened up.

Subaru and Shouyou spent a good hour talking about their interests, though when it came to their past, neither brought up the subject. As it turned out, Shouyou also expressed great interest in astronomy, the study contributing to the greater bulk of their conversation.

"Aside from theater, I really want to study the stars." She said, looking up at the sky. "There are still so many things we don't know and so many things we're still discovering."

"Really? I want to become an astronaut like my father when I grow up." Subaru announced to her. She fell quiet for a moment but smiled regardless.

"Hoshikawa Daigo… He was a great guy, wasn't he?"

"…Yeah… He was a great dad too."

"Well… I hope he comes back to you one day."

"Thanks…"

"…Hoshikawa, it's not fair."

"Huh?"

"I know a bit about you, but you know nothing about me." Shouyou suddenly said, as if she had been struck with an epiphany. "I know you've probably heard a lot of them, but do you want to know about my depressing little life?"

That was strange, but Subaru nodded none the less.

"When I was little, I started failing at school and the likes." She began. "My parents thought the curriculum in Japan was too hard, so they moved me to Amerope where it was more lenient. But because I was born here, I was bullied a lot in Amerope. Despite that, my father never let us move back…"

"That must have been hard."

"It was. I didn't really have any friends in Amerope, and I didn't want to have any."

"Wha—why?" Subaru sputtered, startled by her confession.

"Because a lot of them were really stuck up. They picked on me because I wasn't one of them and I could barely speak their language. So when my father died, my mother moved me back here."

The brunet was dumbstruck. How could she reveal all that so easily?

"So now we're even."

Oh. Subaru thought. That's how.

"Come on, I'm sure Tsukasa's done getting victimized right about now."

But as it turned out, she was wrong. They had only _begun_ to dress him up. Tsukasa's brown eyes begged to be helped as Gonta and Kizamaro, his alleged saviors, cowered in another section for fear of the combined wrath of two girls.

"Um… Misora-chan, Iinchou? Could you two—"

"No!"

Shouyou snickered. "Being so pretty hurts, doesn't it, Tsukasa?"

He muttered something under his breath before being hurled back into the dressing room stall.

"I think we better go, Shouyou-san…" Subaru hastily said, pushing the blue-clad girl out of dressing room.

"WAIT, COME BACK AND HELP ME!"

Once safely outside of the department store and to the entrance of the Moai exhibit, Shouyou laughed.

"W—Wha—What the heck was that?!" She demanded between giggles. "You—You left him there!" It took a few minutes for her to stop roaring with infectious laughter, and she was still left prone to laughing again once she stopped.

"Well I…"

"You kinda want to see him in a dress, don't you?" She grinned, a cocky smile appearing on her face.

"N—No!"

"That's a yes." Warrock chirped, catching on to the let's-pick-on-Subaru game.

"I'm curious to see if they actually do get him in a dress." Aquarius said. "I mean, that's Gemini's host! What would Gemini do if we all did that to him?"

They began to laugh again.

"I thought that laugh was familiar."

Shouyou immediately froze, color draining from her face.

"Mizukami Shouyou, it's so good to see you again!" A rather lean man in a suit greeted. "I hope you are doing well?"

"I'm doing fine." She responded nervously. "H—How about you Usoya-san?"

"Splendid." He replied, grinning. "I didn't realize you returned to Japan." The man paused, staring at Subaru. "Is this young man your boyfriend?"

Shouyou crossed her arms. "Of course not. He's just one of my classmates. We're paired up for an assignment."

"I see, I see… I'll tell Kamui you said hello then." She only smiled and waved good-bye as he left.

"Shouyou-san?" Subaru said uneasily. It was too strange seeing her current expression; despite her volatile nature, she had never shown such an emotion on her face. It was a mixture of sadness, bitterness, and regret, something Subaru was sure had deeper roots than mere failing grades. Part of him was afraid to inquire who exactly that man was, but it was something he had to probe. "Who was that guy?"

"…That's none of your business." She answered darkly

"Eep, that's no way to answer!" Aquarius squeaked. "You need to open up to everyone so we can do this all as a team!"

"Shut up!" the girl barked. "If I said it's none of your business, it's none of your business!"

She ran off, leaving Subaru quite perplexed.

"Here we go again, huh?" Warrock sighed. He glanced to the equally perplexed FM Seijin. "Go after her. I'll trust you for this."

The pot shaped wave nodded, or rocked rather, before zipping off to give her host a talk.

"Let's go find the others. They should be done by now."

* * *

Tsukasa managed to escape the girls and was hiding with Gonta and Kizamaro by the time Subaru found them, huddled behind the large machines in futile hope that they wouldn't get caught.

"Where are the girls?" Subaru asked, causing all three to jump. "It's kind of important." The boys only shook their heads violently.

"I don't want to get dressed up!" Gonta protested.

"Where's Shouyou-san anyway?" Kizamaro asked, adjusting his glasses. "Can't you ask her to help you?"

"That's the thing." Subaru said with urgency in his voice. "She just ran off angrily after meeting this guy!"

"That's problematic." Tsukasa commented. "Who was this person?"

"I don't know. She called him 'Usoya-san' though."

"You mean Usoya Takeshi, the manager of the TV-star Hikawa Kamui?" A voice questioned, sending chills down all the boys' spines. Behind them, Misora and Luna peered over dangerously.

"I met Usoya-san before." Misora said. "He's a nice guy. Weird, but still a lot better than my old manager."

"Mother and Father said something about Hikawa-kun coming here. Apparently there's also some filming going on for that show Dream Waves."

"So why would Shouyou-san run away from him?" Subaru asked.

"We'll figure that out later." Tsukasa interjected. "We have to find her. We don't know what she'll if she just stormed off like you said."

"I thought she was one of your friends Tsukasa-kun!"

"I don't know that much about her." The green haired boy admitted. "She never asked about my past, so I never asked about hers. I think she only got friendly with me because of the way I look."

"How shallow." Misora commented.

"Anyway, let's go find her!"

Elsewhere, Shouyou panted, quickly entering the most crowded area of the Moai exhibit in hopes of not being discovered.

"What am I doing…?" She cried to herself, pulling her cap off and squeezing it tightly.

"Shou-chan!"

She turned to see Aquarius and promptly ignored her. The girl lead the pot around to a more secluded corner.

"What do you want?" She snapped. "I told you to leave me alone!"

"You never said that!" Aquarius joked. "You only commanded me to shut up!" That only earned the FM a glare. "Shou-chan… They're worried about you. Why else would Subaru-chan try to talk to you? He wants to know about you so we can all work together!"

"…I…"

She tore away and turned to face the wall.

"I don't want to tell anyone."

"Shou-chan… No one is forcing you to tell anyone anything." Shouyou looked at Aquarius with a confused expression on her face. "They just want to be friends." The FM persisted when she saw the girl's face still vexed. "Come on, what about that cute green haired boy? Don't you want to be his girlfriend?"

Shouyou laughed, placing the aquamarine cap back onto her head. "I think he likes other boys." She giggled.

Meanwhile, Tsukasa sneezed violently.

"Well you won't really know unless you hang out with them!" Aquarius chirped. Shouyou laughed again.

"You want me to hang out with them just so I can really see if a boy likes another boy?" She asked. Then she paused. "Oh my gosh, I think that is the basis of our friendship." She paused again. "That's… really, really shallow."

"Still a good reason!"

The girl smiled. "I… Thanks. If it weren't for that talk, I'd be some emo kid."

"No problem! …What's an emo kid?"

Subaru paused once he brought the group to the place where Shouyou ran off.

"I don't know what direction she went in." He admitted. "For all I know, she could have ran around in circles."

"The important thing is that we look for her." Misora said.

"If you guys are talking about me, you're done."

All heads spun towards the entrance of the Moai exhibit where Shouyou was pushing through to exit.

"There's filming going on in there, and boy is it a jungle!"

"Shouyou-san!" Subaru gaped. "Are you okay?"

"Well yeah." She replied, blinking. "I mean, the crowd didn't break anything, I think."

"I mean about earlier."

"Look… Just drop it for now. I don't want to think about it."

"You can hide it forever, Shouyou-san." Luna shouted. "Sooner or later, you'll have to tell us what's up. We're your friends, right? If you need help, we're all here for you."

"Who said I needed help?" Shouyou snapped angrily.

"You don't have to say you need help." Tsukasa said quietly. "Everyone needs help once in a while."

"Shouyou-san, please." Subaru said, making one last attempt to pacify the girl. "We all want to be your friends, but we can't unless you let us. I know it's hard to, but you also need to reach out to others."

She sighed in defeat and approached the group.

"You're right, I'm sorry." She said rather painfully. "I'm afraid of rejection, so I always get so defensive."

"We all are afraid of rejection." Subaru said softly. "Everyone is afraid of getting hurt in some way or another. But you need to take risks to overcome that fear, otherwise you'll be stuck in the same state forever." He smiled, looking at all of his friends. "Isn't that right guys?"

"That's right." Luna replied. "Even if people you do befriend aren't that reliable at times, you can still grow close enough to forgive them for their occasional slipups."

"That's not the—" Misora began to say, but was immediately cut off.

"Hey, isn't that Misora-chan?"

A small crowd began to form.

"Yeah, it is Misora-chan!" Another fan affirmed.

"Oh my gosh, this program didn't mention Misora-chan coming here!"

Much to Misora's chagrin, the crowd grew, eventually encompassing the group.

"Guys, push through!" Shouyou shouted to them futilely. Her voice did not reach them over the noisy wave of Misora's fans. From her vantage point, she could see the boys forming a protective circle around the pink haired idol as Luna attempted to lead them away.

"Shouyou-san, help!" She heard Subaru yell to her. He noticed that she was frozen in place, as if she had spotted something horrifying.

"It's no good!" He heard Aquarius say to him. "She's in a panic!"

Before the pot could explain, a loud booming voice rang across the hall.

"What's going on here?"

Subaru recognized it as Usoya from earlier.

"I must remind all of the guests here that there is some filming going on." The man said, appearing from the exhibit. He put a hand on Shouyou's shoulder, who nearly jumped out of her skin from the action. "And these children are doing a school assignment. Please treat _Hibiki-san_ as you would the rest of them."

"Yes please!" Misora and Shouyou exclaimed at once in near synchronization.

The crowd murmured amongst itself but eventually complied and dispersed after giving Misora one last glance. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Honestly, why do people have to get worked up over idols?" Luna huffed. "They're just like regular people."

"Thank you for helping her." Usoya said. His tone was considerably softer than the tone he used with the crowd. He escorted Shouyou down to everyone. "People are just excitable."

"No, thank you Usoya-san." Misora chirped. "You're the one who helped us out!"

"Well I had to do it anyway, Kamui was getting cranky about breaking character due to the noise." The man laughed. "Speaking of my nephew… Shouyou-chan, is there any message you'd like me to give to him?"

She looked down for a moment and then back up and smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about, sir. I've never met Hikawa-san in person before." He stared at her in disbelief for a second, frowning.

"Alright, I won't meddle in your business for now." He sighed. "Please enjoy your day then, children."

As he walked off, everyone gawked at Shouyou.

"What?" She scoffed. "My family knew his family! Let's just finish that 'assignment' already!"

* * *

The sun was beginning to set by the time they went home. The exhibit was slightly interesting once the crowds subsided and everyone got along fine. That is, everyone but Shouyou.

Subaru sighed. Despite the short progress he made with understanding the girl, he immediately ran into a brick wall and more loose ends. Her behavior wasn't simply attributed to her moving to Amerope earlier in her life. She was still being adamant about her past.

"It's kinda funny." Warrock commented. "She's so shut in but out at the same time."

"What do you mean?" the boy asked.

"Look at her. She's not afraid of doing or saying whatever she wants, but she's so stubborn about telling her past." The alien snickered. "And here I thought that being around you was the only requirement for making people spill their life stories to you."

"It's a lot harder for some people, Warrock." Subaru replied, rolling his eyes. "But I think we got through to her today."

As if on cue, his transer vibrated with an incoming call.

"Hello?"

"Hoshikawa…kun?" The voice on the other line said. "It's Shouyou. I just wanted to apologize."

"What for?" The brunet asked.

"I didn't mean to be so rude to you earlier."

"It's okay, I understand."

"I was really thinking about what you said about taking risks, and I think I'm going to try to do that from now on. I mean taking risks with trying to form new relationships. You know how reckless I am with actual danger."

He smiled when she laughed.

"I'm glad to hear that Shouyou-san. But don't push yourself if you don't feel like you're ready."

"I… I feel so obligated to tell you everything for some reason." She laughed. "It's so weird. You just radiate sound wall waves or something."

"Ehh… Like I said, you don't have to!"

"Oh, but I must! You're the leader of this operation and I am the ambassador…'s host."

"I don't care about that." Subaru said, cutting her off before she spilled her life story as Warrock put it. "I trust you even if I don't know your history. I think you're a good person."

There was silence on the other line for what seemed to be forever.

"Thanks." Shouyou finally said quietly. "No one's ever told me that before… I'm glad you consider me your friend… I'm… really… thankful. Thank you."

"Shouyou-san… Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" She snapped. "I'm not crying!" It was obvious she was. "I—I got to go, my mother is calling me for dinner right now."

"Okay." Subaru conceded in a soft voice. "I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye."

"See? People just want to tell you everything." Warrock said in amusement. "I like her metaphor. A sound wall… People just gab on since you just absorb their voice while smiling like a piece of scenery."

"That's only what you think." Subaru retorted, causing the AM Alien to chuckle more.

He smiled to himself. Her bastion wasn't as formidable as it had been earlier, and just maybe she wouldn't be as intimidating from now on. Or so he hoped.

* * *

Yeah I'm done here for now. Took me long enough. I'm going to go back and correct some things in the earlier chapters later. Enjoy this crap for now. (End date: 6/1/09)


	4. and Bears, oh my

Sorry for the long wait between updates. I was trying to clear up things I wanted to do with this and failing at designing a new "boss" character. Instead I'll leave that to your imagination. Whoever comes up with the best design gets to imagine their own shiny ribbon as a reward.

* * *

It had begun as a normal day. Subaru had been dragged to school by Luna at ungodly hours in the morning. Tsukasa had already been in his seat when they arrived and only smiled as the brunet plopped down in his seat with fatigue still in his eye. Shouyou slid into the classroom just as the bell rang, an occurrence Subaru had suspected was pre-meditated every single morning, as she was perpetually late. Fortunately for her, Ikuta only lectured the importance of punctuality and never really marked anyone down for tardiness. It was only until break time when the routine was disrupted.

Subaru watched a strange blue haired girl in a contemporary style of traditional Choinese clothes stroll in. He paid her no attention as she approached Luna, assuming she was just another class representative. She only really became note worthy when Luna exploded.

"Get out! Get OUUT!" she shrieked, shooing the girl away.

"Oh come now, _Luna-chan_." The girl said in a mocking voice. "It will be good for the class relationships!"

"No it won't!" Luna growled. "I'm not going to give into you just like that! If your class needs funds, you lead it better!"

"Fine then, be that way, _Shirogane-san_." The girl replied coldly. "I'll just tell them that 5-A is too greedy to help us out." She turned away and exited quickly in a huff.

"What did she want Iinchou?" Kizamaro asked once she was gone.

"That's none of your concern." Luna hissed, still seething. Subaru didn't need to look at her to tell that she was in a dangerously violent mood. With that, she stormed out of the classroom, presumably to cool down.

"Who was that?" Shouyou asked with a raised brow.

"That was Kumamoto Jun." Gonta explained. "She's next door's class president."

"She's always getting into fights with Iinchou." Kizamaro added. "I bet she's still sore about the success of our play."

Subaru glanced at the door. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked.

The two boys looked at each other uneasily but nodded. After the break ended, Luna promptly showed up for the next lesson. She ignored everything unrelated to her class work and no one dared to disturb her. When school was over, she went home without a word.

"Haa… I wonder how much Kumamoto asked her for." Shouyou sighed as she held the dustpan for Subaru. "For that kind of reaction, maybe a lot."

Tsukasa casually began putting the chairs and desks back. "She'll be back to normal tomorrow." He pushed a desk in place before continuing. "It's not the first time it happened, and it probably won't be the last."

"Woman can be such a pain." Warrock commented, earning glares from Shouyou and Aquarius.

"S—So what are you guys doing after this?" Subaru said hastily in an attempt to change the subject.

"I have to head home." Shouyou sighed. "More cleaning. My mom thinks my room is a mess."

"I have nothing else planned." Tsukasa said. He smiled a little. "What about you Subaru-kun?"

"Me neither. Misora-chan said she was busy doing some show recording."

"Want to go to Dream Island then?"

"Sure!"

Shouyou coughed loudly. "I'll be off then. Wouldn't want to spoil your date."

"It's not a date!"

"Whatever you say, _dawling_. Bye!"

The girl immediately fled, leaving a confounded brunet and an annoyed Tsukasa behind.

"What is up with her?"

* * *

It took the bus longer than expected to arrive at Dream Island, but Shouyou's words had already been forgotten on the way. However when Subaru and Tsukasa got off, the latter immediately felt something off.

"Subaru-kun, there's an FM seijin nearby." He warned in a low voice.

"How can you tell?" Subaru asked, surprised by the announcement.

"I've been with him for a long time." Gemini explained. "I trained him to be able to sense fluctuations in the EM Space around him to defend himself from surprise attacks."

"I've always wondered how you got around." Warrock commented.

"Unlike your hose, no one else can see the EM World." Gemini sneered. "Beware, that toy might break one day and you'll be stranded in the material world."

"Anyway, let's hurry." Tsukasa hissed. "It's at the park!"

Subaru nodded, sliding his Visualizer over his eyes as the two boys ran for the park.

"We're getting closer… Do you see anything yet?"

The brunet scanned the wave roads above. In the blink of an eye, he noticed a flash of an EM body moving.

"…It's gone."

"What's gone?"

Tsukasa and Subaru nearly jumped at the voice and spun around. Jun Kumamoto stood before them holding a bentou.

"We threw a paper airplane around, but it flew too far." Tsukasa quickly lied. "I guess it might have even gone out to sea."

Jun stared at him incredulously but seemed to believe him.

"You two are in Shirogane's class, aren't you"?" She probed. Her grip on her bentou seemed to tighten as she asked.

"Yes we are." Subaru answered.

"How interesting." She replied, raising a brow. "She has such cute boys in her class and she still chases after that Rockman… thing. He's not even real!"

"Maybe we're just not her type." Tsukasa counted. "It's still too early to think about that kind of thing anyway."

"That's disappointing to hear from you. You're the most popular boy in the entire school. What would all those girls with crushes on you think if they heard what you just said?"

"Eh?"

"Every girl in school wants to be your girlfriend, but you keep turning them down."

"That's because I'm not interested in a relationship right now."

"Sure you are."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Stop!" Subaru shouted, interrupting the argument. "Tsukasa-kun, it's late. Let's go back now."

"I'll be seeing you two later then." Jun said opening her mostly finished lunch. "Futaba-kun and…?"

"Hoshikawa Subaru."

"Hoshikawa-kun then."

They waved good bye to the girl and headed around to the main island.

"Tsukasa-kun, there's something I want to ask somewhere here." Subaru said, stopping in front of the entrance of the garbage dump.

"I'll go with you."

He led his friend inside and through the maze-like paths around the piles of trash and warped in, followed by the surprised Gemini Spark. He stopped short in front of a skeleton-like Denpa being.

"Crown Thunder, I have something to ask you." Rockman said.

"So it's Rockman isn't it? I'm always free for—YOU!!" Crown Thunder stopped mid-rant, frozen in place with his gaze locked on Gemini Spark. "Gemini, you have some nerve showing your face to me."

The two Gemini Sparks stared at each other, then at the older electric based Denpa Human. "We don't even know who you are."

"Don't take me for an old fool you fools!"

"You are an old fool." Gemini's voice resounded, causing Crown Thunder to topple over in surprise.

"If I recall." Warrock whispered to Rockman. "Crown was the one who taught Gemini how to fight. Then Gemini went on to become Cepheus' right hand man instead of Crown, so the old man's a little bitter."

"I'm not a bitter old man you punk!" Crown Thunder shrieked. "I'll whip you for saying that!"

"I—I'm not interested in fighting right now!" Rockman stuttered, trying to pacify the angry ghostly Denpa. "I just need to ask you something!"

"Well I want to fight!"

However, before Crown Thunder could charge at Rockman, Gemini Spark clapped their hands together and zapped him with Gemini Thunder. Despite the same elemental affinity, the power of the attack fried him before he could enter another rant.

"Er… Fine, I'll talk!"

"Good. Now old man, did you see a red FM pass by here?" Warrock demanded.

"I didn't." the skeleton snapped. "Is that all?"

Gemini Spark and Rockman sighed together and waved out as fast as they could.

"That… could have gone better." Tsukasa lamented. "It really is late now… The bus that goes to my apartment doesn't arrive for a while…"

"If you want, you can stay over at my house tonight." Subaru offered lamely. "We can catch the bus back to Kodama in a few minutes."

"I wouldn't be an intrusion?"

"No, I know my mom would be happy to have you over!"

"Alright." Tsukasa said after a moment of internal debate. "I'll take you up on that."

The two rushed back to the bus stop, just barely making it to the bus back to Kodama Town.

"I'm home!" Subaru announced as he opened the door.

"Welcome home, Subaru." Akane greeted. "Why are you back so late?"

"I was playing with a friend at the park and we lost track of time." Subaru answered sheepishly. It was mostly true. "Can he stay over? His parents said he could."

"Ah--! Sorry for the intrusion!" Tsukasa said when Akane poked her head into the entrance. "I'm Futaba Tsukasa, one of Subaru-kun's classmates. It's nice to meet you…"

"It's nice to meet you too Tsukasa-kun!" She scanned him over. "One of Subaru's classmates, huh? I'm glad he can bring his friends over again!"

"I hope I didn't cause any trouble by coming here unannounced." Tsukasa said shyly.

"It's no problem!" Akane dismissed. "I just made a huge pot of curry, so help yourself!"

The three ate dinner together, laughing while exchanging surprises (Akane could still not believe that Tsukasa was actually a boy and not a girl as he appeared to be). Subaru felt a fuzzy feeling in him that he hadn't felt in a long time. While Tsukasa was taking a bath, he told his mother about it."

"Why Subaru!" She exclaimed. "It means you're having fun at dinner again!" She gave him a tight hug and he could feel her smile and shake. "I'm so proud of you." Subaru vaguely wondered why he felt a little guilty by that.

After Subaru finished his bath and the two boys finished their homework, Warrock spoke up.

"Oi you two. We gotta tell the others about that wave."

"Right." Subaru agreed. "I'll call Misora-chan first. Tsukasa-kun, could you call Shouyou-san?"

The two made their respective calls, though Tsukasa seemed to get flustered. He boldly remarked that "it wasn't a date", a statement Misora heard, triggering her own curious inquiry. The intensity of the questioning from both girls caused the two boys to hastily ang up and call Gonta and Kizamaro. Finally, Subaru mustered the courage to call Luna. She was irate at first, then serious.

"We'll go investigate it together tomorrow." She said in a tone that did not allow any other option.

"Ah… okay I'll tell Misora-chan."

An irate noise came from the transer, but Tsukasa's voice rose over it.

"Tell her to be careful." He said firmly. "She's in the most danger now."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because we met with Kumamoto Jun right after the signal disappeared, remember? I think that is pretty suspicious."

"Kumamoto?!" Luna shrieked through the receiver. "What is she planning?"

"Tsukasa leaned over to talk into Subaru's transer. "I don't know, but you should be careful. Your history with her could make you a target for attacks."

"Grr… I will not let her get the better of me! We'll pre-empt her tomorrow!"

The phone cut off.

"We might have set her up in a trap." Gemini finally commented. "Especially since she reacted like that."

"I'll protect her then." Subaru said. "It's my responsibility."

"You mean our responsibility." Warrock grumbled. "I swear, you and your hero mode."

"But that's what makes Subaru-kun so likeable."

Subaru flushed, not understanding why he did.

In the morning, Tsukasa woke Subaru up early. He explained it was a habit since he had to wake up earlier to catch the bus on time. Subaru found out the hard way that it was a lie and the green haired boy actually spent most of his morning in the mirror as Shouyou had once told him behind his back. He made note to believe her strange allegories more often. The boy was surprised when Subaru's mother handed both of them bentous.

"Why?" He asked blankly, tapping the warm plastic.

"I made a lot of curry, and you seemed to like it." She shrugged. "You're wearing the same clothes from yesterday… Why don't you borrow some of Subaru's?"

He flushed in embarrassment. "It's fine, they're not dirty so it's fine! Besides, I have a lot of this outfit set at home. I don't want to be more of a trouble than I already am…"

"Okay mom we're off!" Subaru hastily called and proceeded to drag Tsukasa out the door.

"Ah—have a safe trip!"

* * *

School ended quickly for Subaru as he was whisked away to Dream Island.

"You guys are late!" Misora complained.

"We can't all use the wave roads." Luna snapped sending a glare to her and Kizamaro.

"AM waves can't do area shifts either." Tsukasa coughed, to which Subaru feigned injury.

"Alright Wonder Boy." Shouyou yawned. "What are we looking for?"

"A red wave body." Subaru said. "Like Ox, but more red than orange."

"That sounds like Ursa then." Ox commented.

"Ursa was always an odd ball." Ophiuchus added in agreement.

"But it's weird. Ursa hates Cetus."

"That buffoon probably followed the energy signature of a fish here."

Ox snorted. "Wouldn't Cetus be pissed to hear you say that."

"Shut up you two!" Gemini snapped. "We have to split up to search for her NOW."

The two FMs hastily retreated back into their perspective transers.

"Let's wave in." Subaru suggested. "We'll have more privacy up there."

Before they could make their way to the warp hole, Misora stopped to face Luna. "Luna-chan, I don't think you should go."

"What do you mean?" Luna said angrily. "I can do this!"

"It's not like that!" Misora protested, holding her hands up. "I'm just worried about your safety!"

"Harp's host has a point." Gemini commented. "Ophiuchus Queen isn't very mobile, nor does she have experience to face an enemy with an advantage over her. She would just get in the way."

"I don't mean it like that…"

"Don't look down on us like that!" Ophiuchus snarled.

"Ophiuchus, stop." Luna sighed. "I understand what they're saying."

"Luna!"

"Gemini is right. As the class president I have to recognize my limits and listen to what my peers say!"

The pink haired idol looked at the blonde with concern. "Luna-chan…" She placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it! I'll work extra hard in your place!"

"Misora-chan… Thanks."

"W—Well then I guess Iinchou and I will just scout down here!" Kizamaro stuttered. "S—Since you guys will be up there…"

Subaru smiled at their nervous friend. "We're counting on you to keep Iinchou safe."

"Yeah, you better keep Iinchou safe!" Gonta cheered, slapping Kizamaro on the back a little too hard.

"I—I will!"

Luna and Kizamaro watched their five friends wave in and disappear from sight.

"Let's look around now, Kizamaro."

"R—Right!"

* * *

After waving in, the group split up. Gemini Spark offered to watch over the park area and alert them if anything came up. Harp Note took Ox Fire to the garbage disposal entrance, and much to the former's disappointment, Rockman and Aquarius Dawn ventured deeper into the garbage maze.

"Hey Hoshi—Rockman, did you notice how they started using –chan with each other?" Aquarius Dawn giggled.

"Eh? I didn't notice…"

"They must have gotten close playing dress-up with Tsukasa." Warrock snickered. "Girls, they can be so scary."

Rockman would have nodded in agreement were it not for the fact that Aquarius Dawn was right next to him. Thankfully for his partner, she chose to ignore that last statement, but seemed to grin in agreement.

"You know what else is scary? I used to think that Japan was so much cleaner than Amerope with how much recycling we do…" Aquarius Dawn said, changing the subject. "But to build an entire island out of trash… That's a little too much, don't you think?"

"There are still some nice things about Dream Island. Like the park! It's Tsukasa-kun's favorite place…"

"Never would have guessed."

The rest of the conversation proceeded with silence aside from the occasional virus attack. Aquarius Dawn seemed to be holding her own at first, but Rockman could tell she was struggling.

"Shou-chan, let's take a break." Aquarius panted. "I'm wiped out."

"Aquarius, have you ever fought before?" Rockman asked curiously. He had never seen any Denpa being tired out that quickly. Even he lasted longer his first time around.

"Not really." Aquarius answered. "I don't like fighting, but if I have to, I will."

"Not every FM-Seijin is a warrior Subaru." Warrock said. "Just like on this planet."

"Then Shirogane was a better choice to send up here after all." Aquarius Dawn sighed.

"I want to keep Iinchou safe." Rockman reaffirmed. "Even if she doesn't like it, I have to keep her out of danger."

"Isn't that nice…" He glanced at Aquarius Dawn who had an unreadable smile on her face. "If only… AHH LOOK OUT!" That smile didn't last for long as she immediately tackled Rockman down. She gasped in pain as a strange new virus grazed over her back. She rolled back onto her feet, summoning Aquarius directly into her hands. "Aquarius Top!" Just as quickly as she called the purple chalice back, she threw Aquarius out at the virus like a top, deleting it.

"Luckily we have the type advantage…" Aquarius warbled, still disorientated from the sudden teleports and spins.

"Subaru, that wasn't a normal virus." Warrock growled. "That was definitely one of Ursa's spawn!"

"Eh? Spawn?" Aquarius Dawn gaped.

"Yeah. Ursa is one of the few FM Seijin who can summon minions to attack." Warrock explained. "But usually they're smaller… She's definitely found a host by now."

"We better be careful." Rockman said. "Aquarius Dawn, are you going to be okay?"

"I think so." She winced.

"We will be!" Aquarius chirped. "That was nothing!"

Rockman nodded and smiled. "Let's keep search for Ursa!"

Not too far away on the wave roads above the incinerator, Ox Fire and Harp Note were fending off another ambush of tiny bear viruses.

"These guys don't know when to give up!" Ox Fire grunted, punching a virus down. Harp Note noticed that some of the bears would only be affected by Ox Fire's attacks.

"The white ones can only take fire attacks." Harp exclaimed. To make a point, Harp Note attempted to use Shock Note on a white bear, only for the attack to be deflected off harmlessly. Ox Fire grunted with effort to breathe fire at it, instantly deleting it.

Aquarius Dawn and Rockman quickly arrived on scene.

"Did Ursa pass by here?" Rockman asked.

"Not yet." Harp Note answered. "We've just been dealing with these guys! Ah, the white ones can only take fire attacks!"

Rockman nodded and quickly switched his battle cards to Burning Rings. The ambush soon cleared out, leaving the four exhausted. Harp Note used her Recovery cards to heal the damage.

"Wonder if Tsukasa's okay." Aquarius Dawn breathed. "If it took us that long, what is his condition?"

Rockman frowned. "I'll go check on him!" He immediately ran off to the park area. Things were suspiciously quiet on his way over there, with no signs of the tiny bears in sight. To his relief, Gemini Spark was just idling on the side.

"Find anything?" Spark Black asked in a bored voice. "All's quiet over here."

"Where did Iinchou head?"

"The second-hand electronics store." Spark White replied, placing a hand on Spark Black's shoulder to silence any retort. "That was ten minutes ago."

On cue, Luna had returned to the park area with Kizamaro, sitting on a log to take a break. She appeared frustrated from Rockman's vantage point.

"It's about time we wave out—"

A sudden rumbling interrupted Rockman.

"Rockman! Large trucks are--!" Aquarius Dawn gasped, but immediately stopped when they came into view. Below in the real world, people were panicking. Workers were attempting to evacuate the area in a hurry.

"Everyone calm down!" One said. "We're just having a testing malfunction, so just evacuate carefully!"

Gemini Spark scoffed and rushed off, pulsing into the lead truck. A minute later, they emerged, Spark White uncharacteristically angry.

"Jammingers and bears, oh my." He groweled.

"Ursa is in one of those cars." Spark Black yawned. "So, what's the plan, _leader_-kun?"

Rockman glared at him. "We'll just pulse in and stop each one. That's all we can do right now."

"What about making a dam?" Aquarius Dawn suggested. "That way we can narrow it down."

"Sounds reasonable!" Ox Fire agreed.

"But we don't know if they'll stop…"

"We just have to stall to get Iinchou to safety." Rockman said firmly. They all nodded in agreement and pulsed into different cars. Each time, they emerged, they only confirmed Jammingers and bear viruses controlling the console. For a moment, the wave of trucks stopped.

"No clues to Ursa's location."

"None here either…"

"Um… Guys…"

Before they knew it, they were surrounded by bears again. The ground began to rumble again, and a large bulldozer came rushing through. Gemini Spark cried out and immediately chased after to pulse in.

"Wait, Gemini Spark!"

"He's heading towards the park… Is Iinchou out yet?!"

Rockman attempted to move to confirm, but was obstructed by a bear. "Move!"

Ox Fire used Anger Punch on it, clearing a path for him. "Go Rockman! Leave this to us!" Rockman nodded and pursued after Gemini Spark. He watched the twins pulse into the bulldozer. Before he could follow, a bear virus leaped onto him. He struggled to kick it off, and quickly rolled to the side to dodge another pounce.

"Fire Claw!"

Luckily for Rockman, his instinct allowed him to flip backwards to dodge the huge wall of flames.

"Fufufu… You are good, Rockman."

The flames cleared, revealing a much bigger armored bear. "You're… Ursa!"

"Right, and wrong." Ursa chuckled. "I've found my host."

"_Rockman-sama_."

"Kumamoto Jun!"

"I never expected for you to be real." she yawned. "But if you were, then you would definitely trail after Shirogane. She is your biggest fan after all."

"Jun-san, what are you trying to do!?" Rockman demanded.

"It's Ursa Blast now!" She roared. "And I'm going to take my revenge on Shirogane for making my life hell!"

"Not if I can help it!"

"Let's let Gemini Spark handle the bulldozer." Warrock said. "We gotta deal with her first."

"Right… Wave Battle! Ride on!"

The beginning had been relatively easy. Ursa Blast's attacks were easily predictable and easily countered. Every time she summoned a virus, Rockman deleted it with a single charged shot. Even when she summoned a white bear, he could easily combo both the virus and Ursa Blast herself with a battle card. However as time went on, it became apparent that Ursa Blast had much more stamina than Rockman did as she gradually began to attack more frequently. After a certain point, the viruses she summoned were also taking hits better, but ran off for some reason.

"Subaru!" Warrock shouted in the middle of the battle. "How long has Gemini Spark been in that bulldozer?"

Rockman gaped and noticed that the machine was still moving towards the park.

"Your opponent is over here!"

Rockman barely dodged a Fire Claw from the Denpa bear.

"Let's lure her to the park area." Warrock quietly advised. "That way we can go in and help Gemini Spark when we're done with her."

"Grr… Stop ignoring me!"

Ursa Blast began to rush at Rockman, creating the perfect chance to execute their strategy. He continued to dodge the rash tackles and lead the battle to the waves above the park. To his shock, Luna, Kizamaro, and a small group were still in the park area, which had been blocked off by their earlier attempts to dam the area with the dump trucks. The bulldozer was beginning to push the heavy obstructions away with harsh crashes, spilling the contents of the truck all over the floor and off the cliff into the ocean.

'What's going on in there Tsukasa-kun!' Rockman worriedly thought. Ursa Blast took advantage of the distraction and beat the blue bomber down with her massive arms.

"That's what you get for not paying attention." She mocked. "Too bad it had to come to this. That park was a great picnic area, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to get rid of competition!"

"What are you talking about?" Rockman grunted, struggling to stand up after that hit.

"That Shirogane is always hogging the spotlight! 5-B can't even do anything because she's always taking the attention, the good ideas, everything! Just because she's rich doesn't mean she should get all the love!"

"You're wrong… Iinchou works hard, and everyone works together with her!"

"Shut up!" Ursa Blast roared. "It's time to finish you off! Cub Parade!"

Before he knew it, a large wave of bears came from the previous area and stampeded directly towards Rockman. He worked quickly with his battle cards to fend off the attack, but it came in waves after waves. He was slowly being overwhelmed, taking too many hits from stray viruses and was running out of battle cards. He was getting low on health and Ursa Blast could sense it.

"You're not so tough, Rockman." Ursa sneered. "I heard stories of how you even bested Gemini, but you're more boring in real life. Oh well. It's the end now."

Ursa Blast raised her arm for one last Fire Claw.

"Rocket Knuckle!"

In a flash, a golden fist collided with Ursa Blast, knocking her over and saving Rockman.

"Gemini Spark!" Rockman gasped. The bulldozer broke through the barrier, but was only heading straight even though the group of trapped victims was off to the side.

"The Denpa-kuns are handling it now." Spark White said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"And it looks like we didn't miss a thing." Spark Black grinned. "Time to kick some butt!"

The Denpa twins clapped hands for their signature attack. "Gemini Thunder!"

The attack hit Ursa Blast directly, creating much smoke in the process. However, when the smoke cleared, her armor had changed from orange to white.

"That was close…" She panted. "But I can do this and nothing you can do can stop me!"

"We'll see about that…" Spark White growled. "Rockman!"

Ursa Blast cursed and spun around in time to see Rockman perform Star Break and transform into his Fire Leo form. She attempted to swipe at him with a Fire Claw, but he quickly countered with his last Heat Upper card.

"Atomic Blazer!!"

With that, he defeated her with the powerful Big Bang. Ursa Blast fell to the floor, but continued to resist.

"I—I'm not done yet!" she breathed. "I still have to get…"

"Ursa Blast." Rockman began. "No, Jun-san. Iinchou hasn't done anything to you personally, has she?"

"N—No but she won't help us out!"

"With funding?"

"Ye—Yeah! That greedy brat won't give us any money for our projects!"

"It's because you have to earn that, just like Iinchou earned it for her class."

"Her parents—"

"Her parents had nothing to do with it." Spark White interrupted. "The kids of 5-A had to gruel with fundraising for weeks to do the play."

"I just… I just want to make things fun for my class…"

"What were you going to do if you did hurt her then?"

"…!"

"Jun, don't listen to them!" Ursa pleaded desperately. "They're just trying to trick you!"

"What makes Luna stand out is the fact that she leads her class." Spark White continued, ignoring Ursa. "She takes charge of things, but she also does everything in everyone's interest."

"You mean…"

"Look."

Rockman pointed to the scene in the real world where Luna was running around making sure everyone was okay before directing them to run towards the exit. She made sure she and Kizamaro were last to leave as the bulldozer continued straight. Ursa Blast went silent.

"A good leader… I need to be… a better…"

"Noooo!"

Ursa was suddenly ejected from Jun's body and quickly captured by Gemini Spark. Not too long after, Harp Note, Ox Fire, and Aquarius Dawn rushed to the scene.

"Looks like you guys did it!" Harp Note rejoiced.

"Here, I'll take her for now." Aquarius offered. Gemini Spark held the thrashing Ursa to the lip of Aquarius' transformed body and almost jumped back when the cup engulfed the bear. "I'll be taking her to Leo Kingdom. Shou-chan, you guys. Wave out and find her host!"

* * *

Upon waving out, the group found Jun lying at the entrance of the dump site. Tsukasa immediately ran to the park, leaving everyone but Subaru baffled at his rush. As Jun regained consciousness, she seemed to have no memory of the events as Gonta had after his first encounter with Ox. She swore she would not lose to 5-A and ran off without another word.

The group sans Tsukasa rendezvoused with Luna and Kizamaro at the Dream Island entrance. Subaru offered to stay behind to look for the boy while the others boarded the bus back to Kodama. The brunet quickly located his friend at the park, where the now stopped bulldozer sat in the middle of the flower field, having taken out a chunk of the hill and revealing the foundation.

"Tsukasa-kun…"

"It's funny, Subaru-kun… I had a choice in there…"

"Eh?"

"I could have chosen to stay in the bulldozer to stop it earlier."

"Why didn't you?"

Tsukasa looked at Subaru with a sad smile.

"Because flowers can be replanted, but I'll never get you back if you ever went away."

Subaru returned the smile.

"It's the same with you too Tsukasa-kun. I was so worried about you when you took Gemini's attack for me."

"You didn't have to flood my inbox." Tsukasa laughed.

"I just--!"

"I know… Subaru-kun…"

"Hm?"

"I…"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by an angry attendant who pushed them to the bus stop. He declared the island off limits to the public at that moment so they can investigate. Tsukasa paled.

"Don't worry." Subaru reassured, squeezing his shoulder a little. "You can just visit my favorite place with me until it reopens, and then we'll go to the flowers together."

The green haired boy still looked depressed, but smiled nonetheless.

"Promise?"

"Pinky promise."

The two laughed the entire way back to Kodama.

* * *

Eugh. Sorry for the length, it was much longer than it was on paper… Also a lot different. The original ending for this chapter though was a lot more tender and sweeter and subsequently had a lot more subtext, but an important part of it was in the previous version. Next chapter will hopefully be a little better, and hopefully a little sooner derpaderp. (3/24/10).


	5. Reoccuring Theme

Let me start off by answering the anon reviews since I can't do that privately

GT: The pairings will be a surprise.

Next, I went back to do some edits, like replace FM Seijin with FM-ian hurk. Yabushi was supposed to be Yashibu, Shibuya backwards in kanji, not the furigana reading.

* * *

"Let me go, let me go!"

Above the atmosphere in Leo Kingdom's old satellite, a lone purple urn made her way around the maze of code to the master inside.

"I brought Ursa, Mr. Leo Kingdom!" Aquarius chirped. With a pop, the pot released the wave in question.

Ursa was ready to retaliate, but immediately froze in the presence of the AM Sage.

"Wha—Leo Kingdom!" She gasped, cowering where she stood.

"Ursa, do not fear." Leo Kingdom said in a booming voice. "I do not intend to hurt you if you cooperate."

"No! Don't hurt me!"

"…He just said he won't."

Leo Kingdom gave a stern glance to Aquarius to silence here.

"I only wish to ask you some questions."

"Wh—What kind of questions?" The bear asked as she continued to quiver.

"You are not of Cetus' following, correct?"

"T—That's right! I hate that guy… So uptight and full of himself…"

"Then why and how are you here? The FM King did not issue you a visa to stay here, and security is tight on the FM Planet."

She was silent for a long time. "I can't say…" Ursa finally answered in a defeated tone. "That is… I am not allowed to say. I mean, I want to say, but I really can't."

"She's right, Mr. Leo Kingdom sir." Aquarius confirmed. "There's a really strong Denpa lock on her. And it looks super tricky to unravel too."

Leo Kingdom stared long and hard at Ursa, mentally debating the best decision. Although he was one of the wise sages of the AM Planet, he was but one. He, Pegasus Magic and Dragon Sky would normally make their decision together after much debating. Without those two, it was much more difficult calculating various elements and possible scenarios. "We cannot send you back to the FM Planet." He finally said. "If we do, those who put the lock on you will obviously harm you."

"Mr. Leo Kingdom, sir, if I might suggest…" Aquarius started. "Would it be best if she stay with you?"

"That is indeed wise, young Aquarius."

"That—that's okay with me!" Ursa exclaimed. "I—I'll stay here with you… Oh please, don't send me back…"

"Unfortunately, we have to put an EM lock on you ourselves."

"Whaaaaat!"

"What do you mean by that Mr. Leo Kingdom!"

"This is to ensure all of our safeties." Leo Kingdom explained. "The lock will jam unauthorized signals from and to Ursa for now. Additionally, she'll have restricted access around this satellite."

"But Mr. Leo Kingdom…"

"Aquarius, we are in a precarious state as of now. We cannot be so trusting. You yourself carry the Denpa locks on your comrades written by your very king."

Aquarius remained silent. She was a naturally trusting wave, a sentiment multiplied by the existence of Hoshikawa Subaru. But she had a responsibility to fulfill and a duty to perform.

"I guess if you put it that way…"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ursa whined.

"It's time you headed back to your host now, Aquarius." Leo Kingdom sighed. "I shall deal with Ursa from now."

* * *

When he arrived back home from school, Subaru found his mother lazing on the sofa, staring at the television set.

"Subaru, I don't feel like cooking tonight." She announced in a bored tone.

"Long day at work?" Her son guessed with a sigh. She let out a strange noise that could only be translated as "work drama." "What about eating out tonight? We haven't done that for a while."

Akane immediately perked up. "That's right! Let's see, what are you in the mood for honey?"

"How about Raimenya?" Subaru suggested. "It's been a while since we were there."

"Yeah!" He could tell she was in a much better mood with the promise of not having to cook. "And we can even have some ice cream afterwards."

"It's a date then."

Akane giggled. "Oh Subaru! At this rate, all the girls will be falling in love with you."

"Not that they aren't already." Warrock muttered, but he was ignored.

The two Hoshikawas happily skipped out of their home, their arms interlinked. They boarded a bus to downtown Densan. Once there, they made their way to the small restaurant amidst larger ones. Familiar scents invaded Subaru's nostrils as he and his mothered entered Raimenya. The scratchy enka from an old radio played through the restaurant. To his surprise, the entire place was near empty despite the dinner rush hour.

"Haruto, we have customers!" the old owner roared. "And get those headphones out of your ears!"

A blond boy stormed out of the kitchen, scowling back before literally rubbing his face into a friendly smile.

"Welcome!" He greeted. "How many people are in your group?"

"Just two." Akane answered, pretending to be oblivious to the earlier incident.

"Ah… Go ahead and sit anywhere you'd like…!"

She nodded and led Subaru to a window table. The boy handed them two menus and asked that they call for "Haruto" when they were ready. Akane hummed as he headed back to the kitchen. Subaru cringed at the sudden argument behind the kitchen door. Moments later, Haruto came out and sat at the register with a soccer magazine and a bored look. Some of the older customers shook their head with disappointment at the boy and continued to eat. Once they were ready, Akane called him over to order their food, and once more, the blond went back to the kitchen and the arguments re-sparked.

"Those two…" one old woman sighed in a low voice. "It's getting worse."

"Bah, it's just a generation gap." Her companion loudly declared. "My granddaughter is the same. She has no appreciation or respect for old things. She just prattles on about trivial matters, like that girl who retired some time ago for school."

"If only kids were more sensible like that girl. You'd think they'd be all over school with her idol status, pah!"

As the youngest in the restaurant, Subaru shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He realized the fight in the kitchen evolved into enka verses Misora's pop music. It was the surprise that the food came out relatively quickly, and a greater one that the taste was superb. The two Hoshikawas wolfed down their meals happily despite the lingering atmosphere. When everything was paid for, Akane quickly ushered Subaru out. Once across the corner, she pulled him close to her side.

"Sorry you had to hear that." She quietly apologized.

Subaru shook his head and slid his arms across his mother's waist. "I don't mind."

"Really, it's sad they have to…"

"Mom… Let's just not…"

"I know honey! I know…"

"…I love you, Mom."

"I love you too Subaru. Now how about that ice cream?"

* * *

The next morning, Jun and Luna managed to jam 5-A and 5-B into one classroom. From the murmurs, Subaru understood there was to be a meeting concerning a collaboration between the two classes. On time, the two class representatives entered in a needlessly dramatic fashion.

"Ladies and gentlemen of 5-A and 5-B, listen up!" Luna shouted, getting their attention. "We're here to announce something big!"

"I hope you all remember Luna's fabulous play," Jun giggled. "Because it's time we re-visit that idea on a much larger scale!"

The classroom exploded in murmurs. Some were elated to be able to work on the play while some were more incredulous about the success.

"Is it going to be the same play…?" Subaru asked, raising his hand.

"Of course not, that would be overdoing it." Luna scolded. "We're going to do an entirely different plot. This time, he faces the savage Bear Woman who has teamed up with Cowman from last time."

"Is that it?"

"More details will be released over time."

"So can we go back to homeroom?" Shouyou asked, yawning. It was clear she used that period to catch up on sleeping despite Ikuta's warnings.

"Announcements aren't done just yet." Jun said. "In order to get support, we're going to help out with the Dream Island Park Restoration fund's efforts to, well, restore the park."

"A percent of the proceeds go to the fund." Luna explained. "And if we're going to make a large contribution, we have to get our name out there so people would come to see it."

"And people would actually… go to see that…" Shouyou countered. Had it not been for the success of the previous play, Subaru would have been inclined to agree with her.

"Daddy's in the entertainment business." Jun remarked with pride. "He says that all the talent agencies are getting desperate to find a new marketable idol since Misora-chan retired."

"There's a sudden fundraising event at Yashibu on Sunday." Luna continued. "Bayside Elementary school has requested that we help set up and they'll help promote our play. As a bonus, we get to see the benefit concert that day for free."

"But we'll have to help clean around the park and replant the flower garden."

There were cheers and moans between the two classes, cheers at the prospect of being able to go to a concert free and moans at the promise of manual labor. Tsukasa rolled his eyes and spoke up.

"I'm great with that."

"Oh me too!" A girl nervously exclaimed.

"Me too!"

Tsukasa smiled at them, making them swoon dreamily. The boys all rolled their eyes, and Shouyou snickered.

"Who's playing in the concert anyway?" she asked.

"Some pretty big names actually." Jun answered, smirking. "Oh, let's say, the likes of Hikawa Kamui, NAOMI, and… Hibiki Misora."

Immediately both classes erupted in enthusiastic frenzy.

"R—Really?" Gonta exclaimed. "But isn't Misora-chan retired?"

"I believe she said she'll perform for charity. The entire concert was mostly her idea."

"That's so cool!"

"Wow, you are good at conni—er, convincing them." Luna whispered to Jun, who only quietly chuckled.

"I do take from your example."

Luna cleared her throat before continuing with the announcements once the cheering died down. "Since it's on Sunday on such a short notice however, we all have to be there really early. We'll all be meeting at the bus stop at six AM sharp, so don't be late!"

* * *

The alarm blared at an ungodly hour in the morning, forcing Subaru to roll groggily out of bed and onto the unforgiving cold floor. He was ready to risk a sore back, but the phone prevented him from simply going back to sleep.

"You better be up and on your way." A cranky Luna warned. Deciding that his safety was better than sleep, he hastily brushed his teeth and threw his clothes on. His own mother hadn't gotten up yet, and only the uncertain promise of whether donuts and bagels, an odd choice, will be available when he gets there filled his stomach. The morning bus driver grunted happily, his existence finally validated by the children on board.

"Look alive people." Jun yawned. "We don't want to look sleepy."

On the way, the bus picked up Shouyou, who was in the process of wrestling with her hair, and Tsukasa, whose hair was already perfectly in place.

"Good morning!" He cheerfully greeted, only to be greeted with half-hearted groans. "Wow, no one's excited?"

"It's too early in the morning." Gonta complained.

"It's not that early."

"That's because you normally get up this early to do your hair." Shouyou countered, finally managing to get rid of all the snags in her giant curl.

"Shouyou, don't slander Tsukasa-kun!" A girl from 5-B accused.

"Shouyou-san is right though." Subaru said in a teasing manner. "He really does get up early to do his hair."

"Subaru-kun!" Tsukasa cried in embarrassment. He gently punched him in the arm.

Energized by their antics, the fifth grade student body of Kodama Elementary leaped out of the bus and onto the sidewalks of Yashibu.

"For a last minute event, it sure is organized." Luna commented.

"It's because Misora-chan wanted it." Jun theorized. "Any chance there is to get back a popular idol before her popularity expires is a chance the business will take."

"What do you mean by 'before her popularity expires'?" Gonta asked indignantly.

"Remember Aki-chan?"

"Who?"

"Exactly."

"According to the Maro-Dictionary," Kizamaro began. "Even the international fans were upset by her retirement. She has a long way to go before her popularity goes, if at all!"

"Come on people, we have a job to do!" Luna nagged. "We don't want to keep Bayside Elementary waiting."

To everyone's surprise, the Bayside Elementary's booth was flocked with an army of Misoras of various heights and sizes. The boys of Kodama were mildly disturbed to find some of those Misora impersonators were boys, and even more disturbed by the ones who were able to pull it off well. Only one girl stood out, directing the Misoras around. She wore a dark blue jacket with electric blue lining, white and green striped stockings, and bright blue boots. Her purple hair easily fell to her mid back. Luna and Jun approached her.

"Excuse me." Luna said. "I'm Shirogane Luna and this is my associate Kumamoto Jun. We're the representatives from Kodama Elementary school's fifth grade classes. We're here to help with Bayside Elementary school's endeavors today."

Turning around, the girl blinked at them and smiled brightly. "Welcome!" She greeted, grabbing both of their hands. "I'm Namiou Miru, but please call me Mimi! I'm one half of our reps here today~"

"So, what do you need help with?"

"We need man power." Mimi simply said. "Help setting up, you know? And then some more complicated computer stuff. My cousin is helping with that, but he can be kind of unreliable at times."

"What exactly are you guys setting up?" Kizamaro pondered aloud.

"It's an obstacle course." Mimi explained. "The Afterschool Escape. You see, ever since Misora-chan went back to school, the paparazzi floods the entrance of the school hoping to get pictures of her. It got to the point that we made the 'Get Misora-Chan Home Safely' club dedicated to countering the paparazzi." At this, Mimi giggled with something hidden in her voice. "So we're running this booth so everyone can see how tough it is."

"It sounds tough!" Gonta exclaimed. "It's no help that I'm super hungry right now!"

"Donuts and bagels are over there, big guy."

"Yay! Food!"

Everyone laughed as Gonta ran towards the mountain of pasteries. Before Subaru could follow, Mimi stopped him.

"You have your card gate on your transer even this early in the morning." She noted. "Are you a battler?"

"Something like that." He shrugged, amazed she noticed.

"Do you even have navi cards?"

"Yeah, a few. I have Pitchingman, Propellerman, Openman, Airconman, and Shovelman."

In the corner of his eye, he saw Tsukasa freeze when "Shovelman" left his lips.

"Good! We have Pitchingman machines but no card. How silly is that? Propellerman can be fun. The others are too industrial if you know what I mean."

"A—Ah…"

Subaru didn't see Tsukasa leave in the other direction. The boy hadn't even crossed his mind after with all the running he and the others had to do. They envied the girls, who were setting up the merchandise table and decorations along the outside of the course. Baked goods, bumper stickers with funny phrases, and patches were laid out across the table, along with flyers for Kodama's play.

"None of this has Misora-chan's face or trademarks on it." Jun pouted.

"That would be missing the point." Mimi said. "We're trying to kill the hype. Even if the course is about Misora-chan's struggle, we're not trying to cash in on her."

"Why can't people understand that she just wants to be normal?"

"Some people can't help but shine."

They all looked at Shouyou. The girl was unnaturally quiet and solemn.

"No matter what, people recognize her talent. It's something that can't be helped. She doesn't want everyone flocking to her like moths, so she hides. But that hiding won't do any good because she shines. Even if she tries to not shine, she will."

"She's not hiding." Luna interjected. "She's just in a cacoon for a while, and then she'll come out more beautiful than ever."

"I didn't peg you to be such a big Misora-chan fan." Jun teased.

"I'm not! I'm just…"

"But those are really nice and sincere words." Mimi praised.

"I just…"

"Iinchou!" The boys shouted, saving Luna from further embarrassment. "We got the equipment!"

"Good, good, bring it over here."

* * *

Within the hour, the obstacle course was finished.

"Phew, it's finished!" Mimi announced. She paused right after, feeling strangely redundant for saying that. "Can I get some guinea pigs to do a run through?"

To the boys' relief, Jun volunteered boys from her class to do it before Luna could. She turned to Mimi.

"What about the rest of us?" She asked.

"Help operate the booth." Mimi replied. "The rest of us are going to promote." To add emphasis, she held up Misora's signature pink hoodie custom tailored in her own size.

"We don't have to all wear those, do we?" A boy asked nervously.

"No, that'd be weird."

"Anyway!" Luna quickly said before awkward silence had a chance to settle. "We'll all take shifts throughout the day. Those on shift will be here, maintaining the course and people, and those who aren't are free to have fun! Just be here on time for your shift, or else!"

By the luck of the draw, Subaru was among the first shift, which lasted until lunchtime. Work was hard as Mimi left him with the task of handling the navi-operated machines. He was sure Pitchingman and Propellerman were going to be exhausted, but happy to be in use after being inactive for a while. He knew Tsukasa was also on the same shift as he, but he never saw the green haired boy.

'He must be avoiding me.' Subaru concluded guiltily. He idly fingered the Shovelman navi card between visitors when he had nothing to do. Time passed by quickly when he was operating the mini helicopters and pitching robots, but dragged on when he was not. Finally, lunchtime came and Shouyou took his place. She handed him a map of the area and circled the area where most of the food booths were located. He gave her his thanks and headed off, occasionally stopping at booths that caught his interest. Suddenly, a familiar scent caught Subaru's attention. Far in a corner, he found Rai-menya operating a noodle cart and among the red jersey wearing workers was a very familiar waiter. They made eye contact and awkwardly stared at each other.

"Hey you!" A short boy with a blue bandana shouted. "Try some of Rai-menya's electrifying noodles! Proceeds go to Dream Island!"

Subaru shrugged and headed over. Haruto only stared. "I'll have a char siu ramen."

"Hey Raima, get on it!"

It took him a moment to snap out of his trance and get to work. Subaru watched him in amazement as the blond skillfully prepared the noodles with no waste in his movements. His actions were fluid, never resting or hesitating for a moment until he was done.

"And here's your ramen!" He announced, wiping the sweat off his brow with his wrist bands.

"Wow," was all Subaru could say.

"That's our midfielder, Raima Haruto!" the short boy proudly declared, having evidently watched Subaru watch the spectacle. "He's like that on the field too, just waiting to charge at you… He and Sakurada are going to lead us Akihara Elementary to the league finals this year. Are you a soccer fan?"

"Ah… I'm more of a baseball fan…" Subaru nervously answered. "But I watch soccer too!"

The short boy eyed him suspiciously but was still satisfied with that answer. "That'll be 400 zenny."

Subaru paid the short boy and hastily left. The seating area was crowded, providing a challenge to find a clean, free table that wasn't saved by people still in lines. He felt a sharp bump in his back, which nearly spilled the hot soup.

"Oh, sorry!"

"Mi—Mimi-san!"

"Eh? Mimimi?" The purple haired girl blinked at him. "It's Mimi, but who are you?"

"I'm Hoshikawa Subaru…" He answered. He held up his transer. "The wave battler…?"

"Oh, you! What are you doing here?"

"I'm eating lunch. What about you, Mimi-san? Are you advertising here?"

She scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, about that… I got distracted by this funny, flaming thing. Don't know what it was, but it was flashy." She paused for a moment, and suddenly paled. "You don't think… It was a ghost?"

"G—gh—ghost?"

"Yeah. Like, maybe the ghost of Dream Island is angry that the island got trashed and is looking for the criminal."

Though Mimi did have a point, as Subaru painfully recalled the ghost of a certain French monarch, the description struck him as odd. "D—Don't be ridiculous! Ghosts don't exist!"

"Whoa, it's Misora-chan!"

Secretly thankful for the distraction, the brunet spun around and spotted the pink wearing idol being quickly surrounded by a crowd.

"Oh no, not this again…" Before he could act, Mimi threw her hood over her head and pushed through the crowd.

"Kotone-chan, where are your flyers? Geez, and you even brought your wig."

"But Mimi-chan, I'm done with my shift! I'm meeting a friend here!" "Kotone" protested. From her voice, Subaru could definitely tell she really was Misora, and couldn't help but feel a little guilty that the scene was his fault. The crowd also seemed convinced she was still Misora, but Mimi continued to nag and even began pushing her away. She shot Subaru a quick look, urging him to follow. Once in the clear, the girls sighed in relief.

"Really now, what were you doing there?" The purple haired girl laughed, nudging Misora with her elbow.

"I wanted to see Subaru-kun." She answered happily. "It's lunch time so I figured he'd be eating here!"

Mimi looked at Misora, then to Subaru, then back to Misora, grinning. "I get it, I get it! Just be careful next time." She then winked at Subaru. "Well I better get going now. Everyone is probably waiting for me. Have fun!" She ran off without another word.

"So… um… Ko…tone-chan!" Subaru said nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"The concert doesn't start for a while," Misora giggled. "So the stage management said I should just go out and have some fun."

"That's great! And since everyone from Bayside is dressed up like you, no one would know it's you!"

"I'm surprised Mimi-chan's plan worked…" She whispered to herself.

"Eh? Mimi-san? How do you know her anyway?"

"Subaru-kun, you should have figured that out!"

"Mimi goes to the same school as Misora-chan." Harp announced. "Even Warrock should have caught on to that."

"Grr… shut up!" the said alien growled.

"So, what do you want to do, Subaru-kun?" Misora asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Well I want to eat this."

"Okay! You find a seat. I'll go get the same thing!"

"It's the Rai-menya stand!" Subaru shouted to her, laughing as if the small scene earlier had never occurred.

* * *

Subaru and Misora quickly finished their noodles, laughing over trivial nothings and Luna's play.

"You mean Tsukasa-kun is going to play Rockman?" Misora laughed. "Well he is cute, but he's no Rockman!"

"I think Iinchou is going to make me do it again." Subaru sighed. "Tsukasa-kun wasn't there that day so I had to fill in. I can't believe I had to wear that costume."

"It was so bad." Warrock snickered.

"Be fair Warrock. Iinchou probably worked hard on it."

"It didn't look a thing like us!"

"You do look messy when fighting." Harp joked.

"I'll show you messy!"

To Subaru's private relief, his transer rang with an email alert. Luna had trouble finding Tsukasa, and needed Subaru's help to locate him. He murmured a soft apology to Misora, who just waved it off.

"Good luck finding him!" She chirped. "I'll be fine by myself, don't worry."

He hastily excused himself and ran back to Bayside's booth, where Luna was waiting for him.

"You can't find Tsukasa-kun?" he asked. "Where did you last see him?"

"This morning." She answered. "He didn't show up for his shift."

"I don't know where he could have gone…"

"I'm right here." Subaru and Luna whirled around in surprise to see the subject of their conversation. "An emergency came up, I had to see my spon—" He quickly cut himself off. Subaru looked at him questioningly, but Luna seemed surprised.

"Tsukasa-kun… You're being sponsored?" She gasped. "That means…"

"It's none of your business." He muttered darkly, looking away.

"It is my business." She said. "As your class president, I'm responsible for knowing the situations of each of—"

"I said it's none of your business!"

They were both surprised by this uncharacteristic behavior. Of course, Subaru knew very well that Tsukasa may actually be Hikaru right now, and that it was better to leave the boy alone. However, he was the only one who knew about his alternate personality, and Luna continued to probe.

"Tsukasa-kun!"

"Just leave me alone!"

The green haired boy viciously pushed her away and ran off, leaving the two to curious onlookers.

"What's wrong with him!" Luna huffed angrily.

"Let him be." Subaru said quietly. "I think… he just needs time."

"You know something that I don't, don't you?"

"It's not my place to say."

The argument went back and forth in an awkward stalemate that Mimi somehow managed to break. "I figured out why some of the equipment is buggy!" She cheerfully announced. She grabbed Subaru's arm. "Mind if I borrow him? I need a good wave battler to bust some viruses. Kanji-chan is so unreliable!" Luna bit her lip and, like Tsukasa, turned away. She muttered her approval walked away. Mimi steered him towards where he was stationed earlier and plopped him at the console. Shouyou looked at them with a raised brow.

"Am I doing that bad of a job?" She asked.

"You're doing a better job at pitching than he did." Mimi giggled. "But there are some viruses in the system."

Shouyou nodded and watched the girl leave. She looked over to Subaru as he got up. "Aren't you going to bust those viruses?"

"I'm going to wave in." He whispered to her. "Can you cover for me?"

"I'll do it then." She offered. "Aquarius says I need more practice. And… I kind of have to go to the toilet…"

Subaru nodded, pretending she didn't add that last part. He told her of the wave hole near Hachiko that would most likely provide the fastest route to the system. Only a few moments passed when he received a call.

"Hoshikawa-kun, did she give you a security code?" Aquarius Dawn whined.

"Eh? No, it must have slipped her mind."

"Go get it! The security's giving me problems and Aquarius won't let me smack them around!"

Sighing, Subaru hung up and headed out to search for Mimi. When he did find her and request for the codes, she giggled and hit her head, declaring herself a klutz.

"I better go and enter them for you." She offered.

"No, you're busy here aren't you?"

"It's not so bad since the equipment isn't working, so I can do it!"

Subaru couldn't help but feel there was a sense of dread and embarrassment in her voice.

"Iinchou, we need help over here!" A boy from Bayside cried.

Pressing a hand to her forehead, the girl sighed heavily. "Coming!" She gave Subaru an embarrassed look before running off.

"H—hey!"

He stood dumbstruck in place, and only an email alert snapped him out of his stupor. He stared at the contents for an equal amount of time in a strange mixture of disbelief, confusion, and embarrassment. He gulped, and forwarded it to Aquarius Dawn with hesitation. When he returned to the station, he received a reply containing the same sentiments of disbelief, confusion, and embarrassment. He remained in the station until he noticed the errors undoing themselves until the system was in perfect health again and the equipment operable. Shouyou returned shortly, looking fatigued.

"Congratulations." Subaru said cheerfully. "You did your first solo mission! That's pretty amazing."

"Don't let me do that again." She breathed, slumping into a chair. Once she finished catching her breath, she gave Subaru an unnerving look. "I saw Tsukasa. He didn't look too happy."

"Tsukasa-kun…! Where was he?"

"Sitting behind Hachiko. He even pushed me away! What did you do to him?"

"W—why do you think I did something?"

"You're the only one who gets a strong reaction out of him since you're his only friend."

"But aren't you…"

Shouyou shook her head sadly. "I don't think he considers me one. We live in the same building, but he doesn't really want to do anything with me. He's polite to the adults, but kind of cold to the other kids."

Subaru was honestly surprised by that. After all, Tsukasa had been the one to approach him. But thinking back on it, a he remembered the aching stab of betrayal.

"I know what you're thinking." Warrock whispered to him. "Gemini was the push, but I do think he really was interested in you."

It gave little comfort to Subaru. He wasn't sure why, but he guessed it was from the fact that Shouyou was a part of the conversation.

"Shouldn't you go talk to him? The concert starts in a few hours, and people are already lining up."

It was as she said. The line was beginning to leak out of 103 and wrap around the event parameters.

"I'll give him an email." He hesitated to say.

"Hoshikawa-kun…" Shouyou began. "Are you avoiding Tsukasa now?"

"Why would I—"

"Hoshikawa." No formalities. "Are you avoiding him?"

"What makes you think that?"

"You know where he is. The moment I told you he was upset, you would have been out of here and by his side by now."

He knew she was right. He looked her in the eyes and saw the emotions in them. Disappointment. Melancholy. Empathy. He hesitantly pulled out the Shovelman navi card.

"I only just realized I had this card." He explained. "It has administrative control of the machines on Dream Island. If I had realized on that day, then his favorite place…"

Shouyou punched him in the stomach.

"Don't be stupid." She spat. "You think he'd be mad about that?"

"Shou…"

"Geez, why are boys so stupid! They always have to act without thinking!" She fumed, muttering several things under her breath, though he could have sworn she might have said something about it being the same with "Gum-chan."

"Oi, Subaru." Warrock interrupted. "I smell and FM-ian. And he's transformed too."

"It's Centaur!" Aquarius gasped. Subaru painfully slid his visualizer over his eyes to see the purple pot panicking. "Something's wrong, something's so wrong!"

"What do you mean?" Warrock asked. "Is that guy not supposed to be here or something?"

"He is, but his mood…!"

"Mood? How the hell can you tell what his mood is?"

Aquarius shook around and somehow produced a strange object.

"From the King. It helps me tell who's friendly and who isn't."

"Why didn't you use that to find Ursa then!"

"I don't have everyone's frequencies!" Aquarius cried in shame. "I have to collect them, Mr. Leo Kingdom said it'd be a good learning exercise!"

"That old fart…"

"What should we do then?" Subaru wondered.

"We'll go greet him," Warrock said. "With a punch in the gut. Kinda like what the girl did to you."

"Warrock, no!" Aquarius shouted. "Violence is not the answer!"

"Come on, I've been following the kid around all day with nothing to do! I'm all restless, let me have some action for once!"

"We should at least see what's going on." Subaru said, clearing his voice to get their attention. "It could be dangerous if he is acting strange like Aquarius said."

"Alright, let's go kid!"

Subaru sighed as his green partner eagerly left the station. He opened up his mail client and quickly sent messages to Luna, Gonta, Kizamaro, Misora, and Tsukasa. Luna immediately messaged back, saying she had to be in the real world. Gonta's message essentially said the same, while Kizamaro's wished him luck. Only Misora's message was different.

"Tsukasa-kun is with Misora." He read aloud. "If anything happens, let him know."

"He's with… her!" Shouyou shouted in shock, as if all her hopes and dreams had been shattered.

"I hope they're getting along…" Subaru chuckled nervously. The mood did not get any better.

"Hey Subaru, what's taking so long!" Warrock complained. "Let's get this show on the road already!"

The brunet glanced over to Shouyou, who bit her lip (the theme today).

"I'll stay here." She said. "Otherwise that Namiou's going to get suspicious." She paused for a moment, letting out a deep breath. "…And I'm sorry for punching you. Now get out there already!"

She shoved him outside, but they were both smiling. Subaru raced to the Hachiko wave hole and quickly waved in, glad the concert left the statue abandoned.

"Where do we start?" Rockman asked the alien on his arm.

"My guess is the concert." Warrock suggested. "That's the place that would do the most damage if a rogue FM-ian were to go buck wild."

Rockman decided to ignore the wording and rushed off. He found security walls surrounding the concert area, and wondered if they were the same as the ones the Bayside booth was using. He entered the embarrassing code and received an error message.

"Okay, what should we do…"

"Wait, check the email again."

He scrolled down, and to his surprise, the message contained another code. He entered it and the security lock snapped open.

"Thanks, I needed that."

Before he could respond to the mysterious voice, he felt a charge of electricity hit him, and all went black.

* * *

When I mean I'll update sooner, I mean it won't take me an entire year to update. Whoops. Originally there's more, but I think it'd be better to split it up so there's less tl;dr and a slightly faster update. (1/15/11)


	6. One Last Dance

Originally split from chapter 5 to make it shorter.

It failed.

* * *

It took a long time for a green haired boy to calm down. The day had been unexpectedly stressful. His sponsor called for a last-minute meeting with rather upsetting news. That's why when remembered not everyone knew he was an orphan, he snapped. He knew well enough that the blonde class president only meant well, but she hadn't earned his trust to know. It was his fault after all that the information was even leaked, but his brunet best friend didn't have to confirm either. So he hid behind Hachiko. It was a quick escape route; he could easily get away via the wave road. He felt a certain dark haired girl approach.

"Hey, where's the wave hole around here?" She asked, much to his relief. "Hoshikawa said it was around here somewhere, but he didn't say exactly where."

"You're standing in it."

"Ah. Thanks!"

Once no one was looking, she waved in and disappeared from sight. He got up, dusting his pants off. Shouyou was a nice girl and all, but she wasn't stable. Not that he was, but they were different. He was sure she didn't know that she didn't know herself, and once she figured that out, her transformation would surely fall apart among other things. She tested the limits of his patience with her suggestions that he had a crush on Subaru. He did not have a crush on Subaru! They were both boys. It was a subject that made him very uncomfortable. He left the area quickly and wandered around. He found himself enchanted by the heavy fragrant of food, painfully reminding him that he hadn't eaten the entire day.

"Tsukasa-kun?"

He began to move away, pretending he didn't hear a voice call for him.

"Hey Tsukasa-kun, it's me!" He didn't get away in time. Misora latched onto his arm. She giggled and winked at him. "It's me, Kotone!"

"Oh." He said lamely. "I haven't eaten yet…"

"Let me treat you then!" He didn't have time to protest as the energetic girl dragged him to a ramen booth. "Two more orders of ramen please!" She declared. The server behind the booth laughed and prepared the order at a frightening speed.

"Two orders of ramen, ready for the two pretty girls!" The blond said, setting the bowls in front of them. Tsukasa bit his lip as "Kotone" laughed.

"Thanks Raima-kun! These noodles are so good!" She complimented.

"My father prepared most of it." The boy said, blushing. "I'm glad a big Misora-chan fan like yourself enjoys them. He doesn't like her very much though."

"Huh? Why not?"

"He says her music is a bad influence." He pouted. "He likes enka, but it's so old!"

"I like enka too." "Kotone" commented.

"Well Kotone-san is special." He nervously added. "My father isn't very accepting of new things in general."

"Give him time." "Kotone" suggested. "He'll come around."

"I hope so. Anyway, go enjoy your noodles! We'll be here until the concert starts."

Tsukasa nodded and grabbed both noodle bowls before "Kotone" could. "I'll carry them." He offered. She shrugged and paid. He was thankful for the silence as he found an unoccupied table and set the bowls down before any others could. He sat down and waited for "Kotone" to do the same before he opened the cover on his noodles.

"So Tsukasa-kun, what do you think?" She asked.

"About what?"

"About the event today!"

"It's okay, I guess. It's a little busy."

"Only a little?"

Tsukasa slurped his noodles. "There are pretty good." He said to change the subject. Misora gave him a look, but laughed.

"Yeah, I'm addicted now!"

Tsukasa laughed weakly and let the conversation fall silent again. Unlike Subaru, Misora was bubbling with energy and friendliness, and still…

"I've always wondered." He began. "Why is Harp bonded to you?"

"Because we have the same frequency." Harp giggled in a condescending manner. "Has Gemini not been teaching you these basic things?"

"I mean, what made you so lonely to attract her to you." Misora swallowed the noodles in one big gulp and smiled at him sadly.

"My parents… passed on."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I really miss them, but I have a lot of good friends now!"

"Would you mind telling me about them?"

"Not at all. My dad died when I was really little, so I barely remember him." Her sad smile deepened. "My mom struggled to support the two of us, but she always made sure I was happy. And I was! I wanted to help her…"

"So that's why you got into the music business…"

"Right. But after that, my mom passed."

"I'm sorry for bringing up something so painful."

"What about you?" Harp demanded impatiently. "Why's a nice guy like you bonded to that jerk, Gemini?"

"Watch your tongue, you insolent woman." Gemini growled.

"I… I don't have any parents either. I never had. So I don't know what's worse, losing someone or never having them in the first place." The words left his mouth on their own, and a sudden numbness settled over him. He could tell by her expression that the pink haired girl was shocked, though whether by his story or by the fact that he told her, he was unsure. She reached over and gently touched his hand. He tensed up at the touch, uncertain how to react. Was she pitying him? Was it an automatic thing? Is she sincere? He looked into her eyes and saw concern. Empathy. It was genuine.

"Tsukasa-kun, that doesn't matter." She said in a gentle voice. "All that does is that you have friends now."

In an instant, all the feelings of fear drained away.

"Thanks…"

They held in place for a minute before Tsukasa suddenly shuddered and withdrew.

"Sorry, I just got…" He paused to think how to word it. "A feeling."

"A feeling?"

"Yeah. There's an FM-ian in this area. He just transformed."

"How can you tell?" Misora asked curiously.

"I trained him to sense these things." Gemini answered, his tone of voice suggesting that if he had eyes, he would be rolling them at that moment. "That way, he can turn an ambusher on its head."

"Yeah, and turns the poor kid into a freak." Harp sighed.

"It's a pretty cool ability." Misora said loudly to block out Harp. "I mean, it keeps you prepared and safe!"

Tsukasa smiled a little.

"You better tell Subaru-kun." She continued, and his face fell. She noticed in confusion, but saw the pained expression on his face. She considered the fragility of the boy's emotional state, and decided not to press. "If you don't want to though, I can." She grinned at his thankful look. "But you're going to have to keep me company for a while."

"I can do that."

Their transers beeped with message alerts, interrupting their moment.

"It's Subaru-kun." Tsukasa murmured. "It seems like Aquarius could detect that FM-ian too. Seems like he's Centaur."

"Oh goody, Centaur." Gemini commented sarcastically.

"Who's that?" Misora asked.

"He's one of the King's men posted here." Gemini explained. "Like that Cancer and Goat."

"So no problem! Why would he message us about that?

"Because Aquarius says he might not be friendly." Tsukasa answered, frowning. Misora joined in on the frowning party and checked her email. She began typing, her frown eventually morphing into a grin.

"I told him that we can't help right now." She replied to Tsukasa's look of confusion. "You're going to be spending the rest of the time with me."

"Shouyou's not going to like that." He chuckled to himself.

"Well too bad! If Subaru-kun's spending time with her, _I'm_ going to spend time with you."

As time flew by, Tsukasa and Misora became more acquainted. The young idol could see him open up more and more. There was definitely a change between his behavior when they last met. She was beginning to see how he and Subaru could be such good friends.

"Hey Misora-chan, it's almost call time." Harp announced cheerfully.

"Aw man!" Misora complained. "I don't want to go back yet."

"I'll go with you." Tsukasa volunteered. As soon as those words left his mouth, he received a pink attachment. He embarrassedly hugged her back. He soon regretted his decision as she began dragging him to 103. She took him around to a back entrance, flashing an ID every once in a while. She soon shoved him into a room, decorated with pink posters, flowers, and gifts.

"I gotta change in a bit, but please make yourself comfortable!" Misora chirped, seating Tsukasa at her vanity. She disappeared in a sea of outfits, leaving him to look around. He could hear Hikaru complain about how all the pink strained their eyes, but he ignored his alternate personality. He was thankful Hikaru had been smart enough not to butt into his affairs today, which was also strange and a little suspicious.

'What are you thinking about?' He asked his darker half.

'Nothin'. Nothin' you don't already know about.'

'I know you better than that.'

'Hmph, you should know that this stuff bores me to death. Except that bit where you pushed that class president, boy was that something.'

'…I have to apologize to her.'

'No you don't. She pushed your buttons, you pushed her down. That's how it works.'

"That's not how it works!"

"What's not how it works?"

Tsukasa turned around to see Misora in a blue yukata. He coughed.

"Nothing, just thinking." He said.

"Loudly." Misora giggled. She paused, looking him over with a glint in her eye that made him nervous. "You know… I've never seen you in a yukata before, Tsukasa-kun."

"Hardly anyone ever wears them anymore, except for festivals." He replied, getting increasingly nervous. But his words fell on deaf ears. He was ready to fight back, but soon realized his position. He was a strange boy in an idol's room. Any problems that came up would automatically be blamed on him. Tsukasa was helpless as Misora grabbed his arm and take him to the cloud of costumes. He wasn't sure how or when, but he was stripped and re-dressed in traditional garments as he was spun around in a flurry of cloth. Once the world stopped spinning bright colors, he found himself in a purple yukata.

"Oh, it looks so good on you!" Misora squealed. She drove Tsukasa back to the vanity and parked him at the seat with a strange glint in her eyes that frightened him. He paled when she grabbed a comb and opened up an accessories kit. "Now don't struggle."

Tsukasa squeezed his eyes shut, afraid to see what she'd do to his well maintained hair. He flinched at every tug and brush he felt, biting his lip when he felt hair pins weave in and out of his hair. He mentally wondered why it came to this as Hikaru roared in laughter at his dilemma.

"Done!"

The green haired boy slowly opened one eye to survey the damage. To his surprise, the young idol did a fabulous job of decorating his hair. She stuck tasteful hairpins in strategic locations, and he noticed a fancy kanzashi she managed to stick in a ponytail.

"…Wow, I didn't know I could put my hair in a ponytail." He commented lamely. Misora giggled at him.

"I'm so jealous, you look so pretty now!"

"But Misora-chan is so pretty herself." A voice remarked with a giggle. Misora and Tsukasa turned around to see a young brunette in the doorway. Like the two, she was wearing traditional styled clothes, but her outfit was fused with a twist of Lolita fashion, down to her Mary-Jane geta.

"NAOMI-chan is pretty cute too." Misora giggled. Tsukasa eyed the brunette warily. NAOMI. That was the name of one of the concert performers schedule. She seemed to have nothing worth noting, but a strange feeling filled the pit of his stomach. Misora interrupted his thoughts. "Tsukasa-kun, this is NAOMI, NAOMI-chan, this is Tsukasa-kun."

"Tsukasa-_kun_?" NAOMI gaped. "You mean he's a boy! Ahh… What to do… even the boys are prettier than me..."

"No way! NAOMI-chan is prettier than Tsukasa-kun!"

Tsukasa wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or insulted.

"Don't give up NAOMI-chan! You had your major breakthrough, all you have to do is keep working!"

"Thank you Misora-chan, but I don't think I'll ever be more popular than you."

"You will! I know what it's like to face a huge obstacle, so I'll be rooting for you!"

The green haired boy wondered if she really was. Hikaru noted to him that it was career suicidal.

"We should probably get going." NAOMI noted, smiling. "Is Tsukasa-kun also performing…?"

"She forced it on me." He muttered, but went unnoticed.

"No, I just wanted to see him dressed up." Misora cheerfully answered. "Are you ready for the duet, NAOMI-chan?"

"Yes!"

The two girls promptly left, giggling down the hall. Tsukasa raised a brow at this behavior and reached to pull the clips out of his hair, when Misora popped her head in and suddenly spoke, "Oh, and don't take that off if you can, Tsukasa-kun. I'll only let you do it when you talk to Subaru-kun."

As soon as she left, his head hit the table.

* * *

As soon as the sun set, the line for the concert began moving in. While Bayside began to usher and herd the crowds around, Kodama was left to help dismantle the obstacle course. They were promised a special area for seating, so that they could do a decent job and handle the equipment with care. As soon as they were done, they were to help usher and sell concessions. When all that hard work was over, the fifth grade classes from Bayside and Kodama headed upstairs to their special balcony seating.

"Man, what's taking them so long?" Gonta complained. "The concert's going to start soon!"

"We can look for them." Kizamaro suggested. "I mean, everyone else can save our seats."

Luna pursed her lips in debate. "Alright, I'll leave them a message. Honestly… Rockman-sama should have dealt with this already!"

"He must have run into the security programs." Shouyou said, shrugging. For some reason, everything in the course had long security codes." Before she could go on, the lights dimmed and the crowd roared with cheers. The stage lights slowly lit the area with bright colors and patterns. The concert started off with a kick; an unknown band played first, but with enough passion to heighten the hype. Luna had to admit, they were good. She made a note to look them up when their performance was over. They left as quickly as they set up, and the next group immediately swooped on stage to set up their performance.

"Aren't those really old instruments?" Luna heard someone murmur.

Indeed, among the instruments being set up were traditional Japanese string instruments. People in traditional kimono and "fusion" kimono, filled the stage. As soon as two girls made their entrance, the crowds shrieked with joy. Even from far away, Luna could recognize that pink hair. The other girl, a brunette, was a little more difficult to identify, but the fusion kimono she wore was unmistakably NAOMI's signature.

"Hello everyone, and thank you for coming!" Misora announced. Cheers soon followed, and she smiled. "It's so good to be back on stage. Even though I'm still retired, I'm so happy you guys still support me!" Even from a separated area, Luna could hear a single voice scream "we love you!" from the crowd. "NAOMI-chan and I will now do a cover of one of my older songs." With that, Misora pulled her guitar out while NAOMI held her violin up in position. Misora gave a nod to the other instrument players on stage and the drummer started the count. The loud twangs of the shamisens mixed in well with the upbeat guitar melody. NAOMI's violent bolstered the instrumentals, adding in a deeper emotional quality to the sound. They soon finished and took a bow as NAOMI took her turn to speak to the audience.

"Thank you so much for your support everyone!" She cheerfully thanked. "It's a real honor to be able to sing in front of everyone, and an even greater one to be able to work with Misora-chan. I hope everyone enjoyed our duet!"

The crowd roared in affirmation, chanting both of their names. NAOMI seemed to beam at them.

"Misora-chan has to go change for her next number now, so in the mean time, I hope you all enjoy this enka!"

"_No! No enka!_"

If it weren't for the perplexed looks on both Misora's and NAOMI's faces, Luna would have laughed at the interruption. She felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck, and it seemed Gonta and Shouyou felt it too.

"_No lousy enka! I want Misora-chan!_"

Suddenly, all the lights in the area flickered and exploded. From the last flash, Luna caught a glimpse of what appeared to be an armored centaur in front of the two performers before the stage became pitch black. Panic quickly caught all in the concert hall, even in the special booth. People pushed and shoved to get out.

"Damn that Centaur." Ophiuchus cursed. Before her partner could ask, the speakers screeched, causing even more panic.

"—ello, hello, hello! Oh, it's on!" Mimi's voice boomed from the speakers. "Everyone, please calm down! There was a malfunction in our special effects, so there's no need to panic! We have to clean it up now, so please evacuate in an orderly manner!" Luna was quite impressed by the announcement. Almost immediately, people stopped to breathe and let those who were still unnerved exit first. They seemed to buy the special effects bluff. Luna would have been convinced if it had not been for the unnaturally strong EM waves Ophiuchus was reacting to. Soon, the special booth had been emptied of its occupants except for Luna, Gonta, Shouyou, and Kizamaro.

"Hoshikawa-kun's still not back yet." Shouyou coughed quietly. "So what now?"

"We gotta go help him!" Gonta growled. "He could be in trouble!"

"That's impossible, this is my Rockman-sama we're talking about." Luna huffed. No matter how much she denied it, she was genuinely worried. He was gone for an awfully long time with no explanation or updates.

"And? If he were so great on his own, he would have already dealt with this by now."

"He could be dealing with it right now!"

Shouyou stared at Luna.

"You can be passive about this, but I'm not." She said in a low voice. "But if you stay passive, everything will slip away from you. Come on Aquarius. Help me find a wave hole."

Luna's knees felt weak as the dark haired girl left. She knew the consequences of being passive, but was there something she could do? She wasn't as skilled as Subaru, Tsukasa, or even Misora at EM transformation. Yet Shouyou had even less experience than she did and she wasn't going to let that stop her. Why was that stopping Luna now?

"Wait." She blurted. "We're going as a group. Kizamaro, stall if anyone asks for us."

The brunet nervously nodded. Gonta cheered for his class president's decision. "Let's go kick that guy's butt and rescue Misora-chan!"

* * *

"You're not getting away with this!"

A loud voice stirred him back to consciousness.

"Just who are you?"

"Shut up! Only Misora-chan can sing, you be quiet!"

"Misora…chan?"

"Rockman!" The tone of Misora's voice snapped Rockman back to reality. Misora and another girl were cornered by an EM body that reminded him of the ancient Greek Centaur.

"Centaur!" Warrock growled. Figured. "What the heck are you doing?"

Centaur stiffed when he heard his name and reared his head to his blue armored prisoner.

"You will not talk either." He glared. His voice was familiar to Rockman, and soon remembered where he heard it from.

"You're Raima Haruto, aren't you?" Rockman exclaimed. Centaur was seemed startled. Bingo.

"You will not call me by that!" He shrieked. "I am Centaur Charge!" True to his name, he charged Rockman, sending the boy flying across the EM space. The EM centaur snorted, smirking with confidence. "You're weak. How were you able to beat Andromeda? No matter, you won't beat Cetus."

"He will beat Cetus!" Misora shouted. "He'll beat you and Cetus!" Angered, Centaur Charged walked up to her and grabbed her short hair.

"You may only sing." When he released her, NAOMI scrambled over and held her tightly.

"Misora-chan!" She gasped. She glared at their captor. "How could you?" She instantly regretted it, and put her head down when his hand reached over to grab her hair.

"Rocket Knuckle!" A golden fist connected with Centaur Charge's face, throwing him off balance. It flew up and returned to its owner, Gemini Spark B. "Finally, some action!" An electric sword shot out of his golden arm as he grinned wildly. "Come at me."

While the black Gemini Spark battled Centaur Charge, Gemini Spark W ran to check on Rockman.

"Tsuka—Gemini Spark…" He groaned.

"Save it for later." Gemini Spark W said with a sad smile. "Can you stand?"

Rockman responded by crumpling over when he tried. "No…"

Gemini Spark W frowned. "We've got to get you out of here."

"But Misora-chan—"

"We can handle it."

Gemini Spark B went flying by them.

"I can handle it." Gemini Spark W turned to face Centaur Charge and released his Elec Sword. His opponent began to spark up and rush him, but the twin EM being feinted a charge and reared to the side, let out to trip the half-horse. Unfortunately, he underestimated the power of Centaur Charge's gallop. Like his twin, he was sent rolling. Centaur Charge ignored him and went for Rockman, putting a heavy foot on his skull.

"I'll end your miserable life now!" He raised himself high and began to descend.

"I won't let you hurt him!"

A white serpent went flying at Centaur Charge, knocking him over. Ophiuchus Queen immediately slithered over to Rockman and cradled him gently.

"Are you okay Subaru-kun?" She asked worriedly.

"Iinchou…" Rockman choked.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you this time."

"Don't interfere!" Centaur Charge roared angrily. Ox Fire immediately appeared to stop his attack on Ophiuchus Queen.

"Don't boss Iinchou around!" Ox Fire warned. "She'll kick your butt!"

"Ophiuchus Queen, pass him over here!" Aquarius chirped. "We can heal him while you go kick butt!" The naga nodded and gently placed Rockman in Aquarius Dawn's arms, who grunted from the sudden weight.

"Don't let him get hurt or I'll never forgive you!" She hissed.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Aquarius Dawn grunted. "Aquarius, help me out here." The purple cup squealed with glee bent over to engulf Rockman with a burp afterwards. Her partner made a face.

"He'll be good as new in my Healing Water!" Aquarius giggled. "But we won't be able to battle while he's there." Aquarius Dawn rolled her eyes and dragged the giggling chalice away. On her way to a safer location, she kicked Gemini Spark W while he was down. "You probably want to help out your new _girlfriend_" She spat at those words "and her friend get out of here."

"She's not my girlfriend either." Gemini Spark W growled, but Gemini Spark B howled with laughter over him.

"Yeah, let's go, lover boy." He taunted.

"You know, you're me so if she were my girlfriend, she'd be yours too."

Gemini Spark B immediately shut up. They rushed over to Misora and NAOMI.

"We'll bring you to safety." Gemini Spark W said softly.

"My hero." Misora replied with a grin. The pink haired girl beckoned her companion idol to come with them. Though she was afraid, NAOMI complied and followed the Gemini Spark twins and Misora to safety.

"Stop! You can't leave!" Centaur Charge was ready to bowl them over, but Ox Fire grabbed his hind quarters and threw him to the ground.

"No one's going to listen to your orders from now on!" He declared. Centaur Charge retaliated by kicking him into the air. "Thunder Spear!" He launched an electric land at the EM cow, striking him dead on.

"That's my friend!" Ophiuchus Queen roared. She managed to surprise Centaur Charge and tackled him, coiling around his body. His legs painfully crunched from the pressure. "I'm not holding back now… Gorgon Eye!"

* * *

It was weird being inside Aquarius. It was dark, but it felt rather nostalgic for some reason. He could feel all his good memories fill him up as his pains faded away, as if they had never been there in the first place. As soon as he got used to it however, she soon dumped him out.

"Time to go!" The cup chirped.

"Wait, what about Centaur Charge?" Rockman gasped.

"Oh, Ophiuchus Queen took care of him." Aquaris sighed. "Really violent too."

"Iinchou did?"

"Surprisingly." Aquarius Dawn yawned. "Remind me to never cross her, ever." She seemed to shudder at a memory.

"What about Misora-chan?"

"Safe too. Tsukasa took her to safety." She seemed to lament over this, but quickly got over it. "Centaur's host is fine too. Shirogane and Ushijima are handling that right now."

"Figures we'd miss out on a good fight." Warrock scoffed. "Centaur was one of Cepheus' best fighters. So much for both of that. Man I would have liked to fight him!"

"You can." Aquarius Dawn said. "He was under some malicious cipher or something."

"Shou-chan!" Aquarius hissed. "Don't tell him!"

"He'd find out sooner or later." The girl replied with a shrug. "Come on, let's get out of here. I already have an excuse."

Rockman nodded and watched her pulse out of the security system. As he did the same, he spotted blue sparkles and the tip of a wing from the corner of his eyes.

* * *

Read the note next chapter :U (8/12/11)


	7. Abandonment and Adoption

I've actually thought about it for a long time. I've been trying to get some idea on how to end this and how to transition it between games, and where it goes from there, but it was all loose ideas that didn't want to get strung together. That and everything became so convoluted, I didn't want to finish it like that. I was going to put Shouyou on a bus for a bit, but I knew I'd have to get her to be Transcode 006 (right after Ox Fire), and there's no way she'd recover with the mess of a personality and history she had. That and I realized she was a hipster lol.

I actually decided in the middle of writing the previous chapter. However, by the time I made the decision, I already wrote the Misora-Tsukasa scenes, which I actually liked. While I'd rather not mention the possibility of romance (Dude, they're like, eleven), it was so interesting to explore their interaction as fellow orphans and mutual friends of Subaru.

I'd like to do more character relationship explorations in the future, but this story was becoming so bogged down by everything else. I might rewrite it, but that's a big might.

If there are any questions left about what I'm leaving behind, ask and you shall receive.

I'm leaving this for adoption IF and ONLY IF you follow some strict guidelines.

1. PM me first. I'd love to see your plans and speculations for this! I will even beta read for you!

2. Do NOT make definitive pairings. If you make the story Subaru/Misora, Subaru/Luna, Misora/Luna, Tsukasa/Subaru, etc., I will find where you live and punch you. Just kidding about the punching part, but I will be very very angry that it will feel like I punched you. You can flirt with the pairings like what I did with Misora and Tsukasa in chapter 6, but do NOT make it definitive.

3. Since you can't make definitive pairings, you must absolutely not bash the other character. I don't care if you can't write out your strange Subaru/Misora sex fantasy (DUDE THEY'RE ELEVEN), I DON'T want to see my baby get mixed up with your immature Luna bashing, nor do I want to see you Subaru/Luna fans bash Misora. Play the games for once, those girls get along well!

4. You don't have to use all of my OCs. I prefer it if you didn't actually. I enjoy seeing other people's OCs, but if you must use them, I'll give you some verbal diarrhea descriptions about their pasts, personalities, hobbies, etc. The only exceptions to this one are Mimi, NAOMI, and Mira Fairy (for those of you who lurk on my DA, you strange, strange children). Please don't touch them at all.

With that, I'm sorry to all I've disappointed by abandoning this fic. You special little stars make me happy that you've given me the time of day to read this. Thank you for reading guys!


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